


Driving Miss Luthor

by bearpantaloons



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/F, I don't know what slow burn is or how to write more than 50k words, Lena Luthor Finds Out Kara Danvers is Supergirl, Lena dates other folks but Supercorp is endgame, except she isn't really Supergirl, just an alien with powers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-06-18
Packaged: 2020-03-13 22:14:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 31,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18949699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bearpantaloons/pseuds/bearpantaloons
Summary: Lena Luthor has trouble keeping drivers, which isn't surprising, considering her brother keeps trying to kill her. She's finally found one who seems to be sticking around and Kara has the wonderful job of driving Lena to and from work, as well as to and from dates. Which is super awkward. Not that Kara's in love with her boss. That would be totally unprofessional.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It occurred to me while browsing through a couple days' worth of fics that there are so many new stories and stories being updated, so it's pretty incredible that you stopped to read mine. Thank you. I hope you enjoy the first chapter of this one.
> 
> I can be found @bearpantaloons on tumblr or @tapdancinghippo on Twitter.

It isn’t that Lena Luthor can’t drive, it’s mostly that she works so late that by the time she’s ready to go home, she’s dead tired and would rather not have to use her last remaining brain cells on trying to maneuver her way to her apartment, while, at the same time, avoiding road hazards and other people who shouldn’t have their licenses. Having her own driver meant that she could sit in the back and relax, watch the storefronts whiz by and answer a few e-mails.

She’s gone through a few different drivers throughout her time as CEO of L-Corp. The job pays well enough, but sometimes the late hours and the threat of possible assassinations aren’t always worth it. Her current driver, however, seems to be in it for the long run. Lena never had someone who was always so eager and happy to pick her up, no matter the time or place. This driver always has a sunny disposition and that kind of thing usually irritates the hell out of Lena, but for some reason, it doesn’t bother her.

After a long day of meetings and consulting with her team in research and development, Lena calls her driver to take her home. Not five minutes later, she receives a text that says the car is waiting for her downstairs. She packs up her things and takes her private elevator to the garage and the driver is already waiting for her with the door open.

“Good evening, Miss Luthor,” the driver greets her.

“Hello, Kara. I hope I’m not keeping you from anything tonight.” Kara waits until Lena is inside before shutting the door. She climbs into the driver’s seat and Lena lowers the divider.

“Oh, not at all. My schedule is always clear for you,” Kara says and Lena can tell she’s smiling by the way her eyes squint in the rearview mirror. The drive to Lena’s apartment is relatively silent, but Kara will notice something while she’s driving and comment in it, trying to make Lena laugh and, most of the time, it works. Lena peers out of the window and watches the darkened shop fronts blur by. It’s late enough where most people are already asleep, but it gives Lena the opportunity to think, even if she mostly thinks about going home to her empty apartment.

When they arrive, Kara hurries out and rounds the car, so she can open the door for Lena, even though she’s told her she doesn’t need to do it countless times, but Kara insists. Lena smiles and thanks her.

“Goodnight, Kara,” Lena says, heading into her building, the clacking of her heels hitting the pavement in time with their heartbeats.

“Goodnight, Miss Luthor,” Kara replies. Lena knows Kara’s waiting until she gets inside safely before she leaves, as she does every night. It does make her feel safer and she’ll be the first to admit that it feels good that someone cares about her well-being, even if they’re paid to.

As she gets ready for bed, she looks out her bedroom window and sees that Kara is still parked outside of her building, which is odd. Didn’t Kara have anywhere to be? A family to get home to? She shrugs it off and changes her clothing before turning off her bedroom lights. Before she climbs into bed, she checks the window again and sees Kara pulling away from the sidewalk, heading on her way home, Lena assumes.

Once Lena finally climbs into bed, she does what she normally does and thinks about her life and how she got to be where she is - twenty-three and already a CEO of a multi-billion dollar company, woefully single, not one friend she feels comfortable enough texting or calling regularly. In fact, Kara was probably the closest thing she could call a friend, but only because the driver was the one she communicated with the most. It was sad, really. She didn’t even have family to spend holidays with and mostly spent them in the office or at home with an expensive bottle of wine. And, to make matters worse, holiday season was coming up.

She hates the holidays, not just because it reminds her how alone she is, but because it’s a reminder of what she gave up, what she could have had at some point in her life. She sighs and lays her head on her pillows, waiting to fall asleep, so she can trudge through another day full of meaningless meetings and paperwork.

* * *

In the morning, Lena wakes up minutes before her alarm is about to go off. She groans and wipes the sleep from her eyes before stumbling out of bed. After brushing her teeth, she looks through her closet and sighs. It’s full of skirts and dresses, some she’s only ever worn once at some gala or party. She ends up choosing a maroon blouse with a black skirt, a safe choice.

When she’s ready to go, she’s about to send a text to Kara to let her know that she’s ready to be picked up, but when she looks out her window, she sees the car already in front of the building, Kara standing outside and leaning on the car door. She feels an odd clenching in her chest, seeing Kara there waiting. Grabbing her bag, she heads downstairs and pushes the glass door of the building open. Kara opens the passenger door for her after saying good morning and Lena climbs into the car.

Sliding across the dark leather seats, Lena settles in and she catches Kara’s eyes looking at her in the rear view mirror.

“I hope you had a nice night, Miss Luthor,” Kara said. “Would you like to stop for coffee or breakfast before we go to L-Corp?”

“No, thank you, Kara. I have an early meeting,” Lena replies, not looking up at the mirror to avoid the piercing blue eyes looking back at her. Kara nods and drives them straight to Lena’s workplace. When they pull up to the building, Kara rushes over to Lena’s side and opens the door for her, smiling.

Lena gives her a half smile back as she gets out of the car. “I probably won’t be finished with work until later tonight.”

“It’s no problem, Miss Luthor. Just give me a call when you’re ready and I’ll be here.” Lena gives her a small nod and walks through the automatic doors of her building.

After a day full of tiring meetings and appealing to old white men, Lena isn’t finished working until well after midnight. She feels incredibly guilty calling Kara so late at night, even if it is her job, but Lena never intended her driver to be on-call twenty-four hours a day. When she took over the family business, she assumed she would be able to keep her own hours, which she does, but those hours tend to be very long.

Finally, she sends a text to Kara, apologizing for the late hour, telling her that she’s ready to go home. Kara texts back immediately and says she’s already outside. Lena raises her eyebrows and heads downstairs. It’s raining outside and Kara is waiting there with an umbrella, shielding Lena from the tiny droplets and ushering her to the car. Kara closes the umbrella and ducks her head as she climbs into the driver’s seat.

“You’re working too hard, Miss Luthor. Have you eaten?”

Lena hasn’t eaten since that morning, but she hesitates long enough for Kara to know that she didn’t have anything for dinner.

“I can take you to a twenty-four hour diner on the way to your penthouse. I know it’s not really your style, but not much is open at this hour.”

Lena chews on her bottom lip, not feeling completely comfortable accepting the offer, but nods anyway.

“Great! Just sit back and we’ll be there in a jiffy.”

Kara always has a way of making Lena feel more at ease. She wasn’t sure if it’s her use of language from the fifties or her gentle demeanor, but it’s comforting enough that she feels like she can trust Kara to a certain extent. Streetlights illuminate their path to the diner and Kara and the sea of yellow light floods the sidewalk as they pass darkened stores and shops. She’s so lost in thought that doesn’t even realize the car’s stopped and her door opened.

“We’re here, Miss Luthor. I’ll wait for you in the car.”

Lena steps out of the car and turns toward Kara hesitantly. “Um, would you like to join me? I think it might look a little sad if I sit in there all alone.”

“Oh, me? Are you sure?”

Lena chuckles. “I don’t see anyone else here.” Kara looks around comically and grins.

“Oh, okay. Shall we?” They walk into the diner and get seated in a booth. Lena picks up her menu and is immediately overwhelmed by how many choices there are. Normally, she orders from the same three or so places and gets the same thing. It’s easier that way. Kara must notice her dilemma.

“Might I suggest the chicken and waffles, or the cinnamon roll pancakes?”

Lena hums. “Cinnamon roll pancakes sound delicious, but it’s not exactly good for my figure.”

“I think your figure is perfect,” Kara blurts out and her eyes widen. “I-I mean, you’re very attractive, ma’am—Miss Luthor.”

Lena laughs. “Thank you, Kara.” She ends up ordering the cinnamon roll pancakes and Kara orders the chicken and waffles. While they wait for their food, they look around the empty diner in awkward silence. Lena realizes she knows next to nothing about Kara, despite having her as a driver for the past year. She wonders how someone can always be so happy all the time, even at almost one in the morning.

“So, Kara, tell me about yourself. I feel like I know every other employee, but you.”

Kara looks at her and shrugs. “There’s not much to tell. I live out past the business district, I have an older sister, I was adopted when I was thirteen and my adoptive mother lives in Midvale. I like dogs and potstickers are my favorite food. Oh! And I love corny pop music. I usually play it in the car when I’m not picking you up from somewhere.”

Lena snorts and mindlessly plays with her watch.

“What about you?” Kara asks with a tilt of her head. “What’s going on with the mysterious Lena Luthor?” As if Kara realizes what she’s just said to her _boss_ , she freezes and sputters. “I mean, Miss Luthor. You’re kind of an enigma around L-Corp. You keep to yourself, which I completely understand and actually really admire.”

“Admire?” Lena asks.

“Well, sure. You keep people guessing and don’t give in, no matter how many rumors there are about you. You don’t care about anything people say.”

Lena chuckles. Of course she cares about what people say about her. She’s heard every rumor about herself, from being a cruel ice queen who doesn’t allow sick leave to having a new boyfriend every week to being an alien.

“There’s really not a lot to me, but don’t believe everything you hear.”

Kara shakes her head. “Oh, no, I don’t believe any of it.”

Kara’s about to ask another question, but the waitress interrupts them and brings their food. Kara sticks a whole section of a waffle, slathered with butter and syrup, in her mouth.

“This is so good, you have to try some.” Kara cuts off another section of her waffle and a bit of chicken, putting it on Lena’s plate.

“Oh, um, I’m a vegetarian,” Lena says, looking at the piece of chicken.

“Oh! Oh gosh, I’m so sorry. How did I not know?” Kara stabs the piece of chicken and sticks it in her mouth, getting rid of the evidence. Lena laughs and cuts off some of her pancake, putting it on Kara’s plate. When they’re done eating, Lena insists on paying, so Kara insists on opening the car door, even though she always does that anyway.

On the way back to Lena’s apartment, Kara turns the radio up and upbeat music rings through the speakers and Lena can hear Kara singing along. She shakes her head at her driver’s ridiculousness and almost closes the divider, but resists the urge. If she was being completely honest, this was one of the best nights she’s had in recent memory. As they pull up to Lena’s building, she almost feels a sense of dread about the night ending.

Kara turns off the car and jogs over to Lena’s side, dutifully opening the door. Luckily, it had stopped raining, so the umbrella was no longer needed. As Lena bids her goodnight, Kara looks at her nervously.

“Is something the matter?” Lena asks.

“No, not exactly. It’s just—well, tomorrow is Thanksgiving, so I was wondering if I could have the afternoon off. If you need me to take you anywhere, of course I’ll be there, but I usually host a Friendsgiving with a few people and my sister said they’d take care of the cooking and—“

“Kara,” Lena says, interrupting Kara’s incessant rambling. “I’m sorry, I completely forgot it was a holiday. Of course you can have the afternoon off. In fact, take the whole day off. I can work from home.”

 Kara furrows her brow. “Wait, you’re going to work on Thanksgiving?”

“I work on most holidays. This one is no different.”

“But it’s _Thanksgiving_!”

Lena rolls her eyes and starts walking toward the front of her building. “Goodnight, Kara.” She hears footsteps running after her, which is odd, as her drivers have always been a little more traditional and stuck up, for lack of a better term.

“Wait, Miss Luthor. Why don’t you come to my place for Thanksgiving? I know it’s unusual to go to an employee’s home for the holidays, but I can’t bear knowing you’re going to be working.”

“Kara, honestly, it’s fine. Thank you for the invitation, though.” Lena attempts to excuse herself once more and Kara runs ahead to try to open the door, but it’s locked, so she ends up making a loud rattling sound instead. She grins sheepishly and waits for Lena to unlock it and then opens it. Lena gives her one last polite smile before walking inside.

“Goodnight, Miss Luthor.”

Lena calls the elevator and rides it up to the top floor. She checks out the window just like the night before and sees that Kara still hasn’t driven off. Her phone buzzes and she pulls it out, noticing a text from Kara.

 **Kara:** If you change your mind, my address is 16 Hope Street #4A. Hope to see you there! If not, please don’t work too hard.

The text makes Lena smile, but she catches herself and sets her phone down on the nightstand without answering. She gets ready for bed and turns off her bedroom light, looking out her window again and watching Kara drive off. She can’t possibly spend the holidays with an employee. Although, with all of the rumors about her, one about having relations with her driver wouldn’t be out of the ordinary.

* * *

When she wakes up the next morning, Lena draws the blinds to let some natural light into her apartment while she takes a shower. After she’s done, she puts on a pair of dark jeans, which she never wears, and an old MIT hoodie that she also never wears and goes into her kitchen to make coffee and a quick breakfast. While she’s waiting for the coffee to brew, she checks her news feed and e-mails, answering the ones she feels like responding to and notices one from her mother. She hesitates before moving her thumb over the e-mail to open it.

She quickly reads it over, hoping that skimming it would make it less hurtful. Unfortunately, it still stings as she reads the lines where Lillian guilt trips her into never calling or visiting and that her mother has been keeping tabs on the company’s stocks and they’re not exactly where she’d like them to be. She also asks if Lena’s found anyone to tie down yet, and not in the sexy way. Lena sighs and closes the e-mail, not bothering to respond.

The smell of freshly-brewed coffee fills the room and after she’s done making some eggs and toast, Lena takes her breakfast and coffee to the kitchen counter and flips on her TV. The Thanksgiving Day Parade is on and Lena sighs, turning the TV back off. She stares at the text from Kara and struggles with her decision on whether or not she should go. On one hand, she could be around Kara and a bunch of strangers, but on the other, she could just stay home and not have to worry about meeting Kara’s friends, who would most likely only know her by name, unless Kara’s told them about her, which she highly doubts.

She checks her watch and it’s already eleven. Taking a deep breath, she picks out a bottle of expensive wine from her rack, grabs her bag, and heads down to the parking garage. It’s been a while since she’s driven herself anywhere, but it’s just like riding a bike, which she also hasn’t done in years. Using the remote on her keys, she pushes the unlock button to listen for the chirping noise that should be coming from her car. When she finds the correct vehicle, she climbs in and sets the bottle of wine down in the back. The roar of the engine is foreign to Lena’s ears and she slowly pulls out of her parking spot. The navigation system is finicky, but she finally gets Kara’s address entered into it and she’s on her way.

It takes her twenty minutes to get there – twenty minutes of minor panic attacks and contemplating turning around to go back home. Kara wouldn’t miss her. Besides, it’s not like she’s ever celebrated these holidays as an adult before, anyway. She’s not missing anything, other than a home cooked meal and companionship. What use was any of that? Lena’s phone buzzes in her purse in the seat next to her. She reaches in and pulls it out, seeing that she has a text from Kara.

 **Kara:** Is that you across the street? Come on up!

Busted. Lena sighs and grabs her purse and the bottle of wine before exiting her car. She locks it and takes her time walking up to the front of the building. When she looks up, she sees Kara standing in the doorway, barefoot, holding the door open for her.

“Come on, slowpoke,” Kara says cheerfully. Lena mumbles a thank you to Kara as she steps into the building. Kara bounds up one flight of stairs ahead of Lena, who follows behind. When they get to Kara’s apartment, she swings the door wide open and announces their arrival.

“Everyone, this is Lena. She’s my, um—well, technically she’s my boss.”

“You invited your _boss_ to Friendsgiving?” one of the men with short brown hair asks.

Kara just shrugs. “Yeah, I did.”

“Ooo, she brought wine,” a woman with short auburn hair says, examining the bottle she’s cradling in her arms. “This is really fancy, good choice.”

“Okay, Alex, give her some room. You’ll get some with lunch,” Kara says laughing and pushing the other woman off to the side. She takes one of Lena’s arms and sits her down at the kitchen table. “Sorry about that. That was my sister, Alex, and the rude guy was Winn. My mom should be here soon and then James and Lucy should be coming later.”

“James Olsen and Lucy Lane?” Lena inquires.

“Oh, uh, yeah. How did you know?”

“I make it my business to know every CEO in this city, Kara,” Lena says with a smirk, “as well as their partners.”

Awkward first impressions aside, Kara’s friends and family are actually quite charming. Her mother, Eliza, is very sincere and insists on doing everything herself, so Kara can visit with the rest of them.

“Oh, Eliza! Shoot, I forgot to tell you that Lena is vegetarian. Do we have anything she can eat?”

Eliza looks at her handwritten note of all the dishes she’s making. “I’m making a cranberry and goat cheese salad, a few veggie dishes, and I can probably make my famous mac and cheese.

Lena waves off the offer. “Don’t fuss over me, I’ll find something to eat. I’m the one who came unannounced.”

“Nonsense,” Eliza counters with a gentle smile. “It won’t take long.”

By the time they’re ready to eat, James and Lucy have shown up and everyone’s sat around the table. Lena has a plate full of salad, green beans, candied yams and carrots, and some mac and cheese. It smells delicious and she tells Eliza so. The older woman smiles warmly at her and Kara does, as well. Lena feels a warmth filling her body when she sees Kara look at her, but she shrugs it off and distracts herself with food.

“Wait! We haven’t said what we’re thankful for yet,” Kara announces. She looks around at everyone as they all collectively groan. “Okay, fine, I’ll go first. I’m thankful for all of you, thankful that I have a steady job,” she says while glancing at Lena, “and very thankful that Winn has stopped asking me out.”

Winn blushes profusely and throws his napkin at Kara. “It was only that _one time_ ,” he whines.

“What about when you were drunk and you said she reminded you of Princess Peach?” Lucy asks with a smirk. Everyone bursts into laughter and Winn sinks lower into his chair.

Kara and Alex share a knowing look and laugh together.

“Okay, then, Winn. What are you thankful for?” Kara asks.

“Oh, well, there’s this new video game that just came out and it’s been a really good investment thus far.”

They continue going around the table until they reach Lena.

“What about you, Miss Luthor?” Kara asks expectantly.

“You know you can call me Lena. We’re not at work,” Lena replies with an amused look on her face.

Kara blushes. “Oh, right, force of habit. What are you thankful for, Lena?”

What _is_ Lena thankful for? Not being killed by her brother? Having a mother who doesn’t think she’s ever good enough? Her father not being alive to see how sad she is?

“I’m thankful for good wine,” she finally answers, raising her glass before taking a sip.

Kara blinks, waiting for her to continue. “That’s it?”

Lena shrugs. “And I’m thankful that I’m not sitting at home, covered in paperwork, watching the parade just to see if any of the balloons pop.” She feels everyone’s eyes on her and she wonders if she’s made a mistake by being there. She doesn’t belong with these people, they aren’t her friends. They know nothing about her.

“Well, I’m glad you’re here,” Eliza replies with a sincere smile. Lena smiles back and catches Kara staring at her. Her driver gets flustered and tries to turn toward Alex and act like they’ve been having a conversation, so Lena continues eating and pretends like she didn’t see anything. The rest of the afternoon is spent talking and playing various games. Board games aren’t really Lena’s thing, so she helps Eliza clean up the kitchen.

“I’m sorry about your brother,” she says as she puts some food away into containers. “That must have been really difficult for you.”

Lena nods, drying off some wet plates. “Yes, it was. It isn’t every day that you have to testify against your family member because he murdered hundreds of people. It kind of makes family gatherings a little strained.”

Eliza places a hand on Lena’s forearm. “Well, you’re always welcome to our family gatherings. We’d love to have you.”

Lena smiles, knowing she’ll never take her up on her offer, but thanks her anyway.

They’re interrupted by Kara bounding up to them excitedly. “Hey, you two, it’s time for the annual photo.” Eliza gives Lena a knowing smile and they walk to the living room, where James is lining everyone up and holding a camera in one of his hands.

“I’ll take the photo, if you want,” Lena offers.

“Nonsense! You’re part of the family now, so you have to be in it,” Eliza says, putting an arm around Lena’s shoulder.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it. I brought a tripod,” James adds with a smile.

Kara waves Lena over and tells her to stand by her. Lena’s standing so close that she can smell Kara’s shampoo and it makes her heart beat a little faster. Kara turns her head slightly.

“You okay?” she asks.

“I’m fine,” Lena replies. “I haven’t taken a family photo since I was young.”

“Well, hopefully this will become a new tradition,” Kara grins.

“Okay, everyone, I’m going to set the timer. Ten seconds,” James announces as he pushes the shutter and a red light comes on. He races back to the group and stands next to Lucy. Just before the photo gets taken, Kara places her hand on the small of Lena’s back, surprising her and making her entire body buzz. A click from the camera goes off and everyone starts to disperse.

“Hey Kara, Luce and I need to head out. I gotta meet up with my sister for second Thanksgiving,” James says after slinging his camera gear over his shoulder.

“Yeah, and I should probably, uh, go… digest,” Winn adds.

Kara laughs. “Go play your video game, Winn. It’s okay.” Winn kisses her on the cheek and follows James and Lucy out the door.

Eliza grabs her purse and hugs Kara tight. “I’m going to go home with Alex. I haven’t even unpacked yet. We’ll meet up for brunch tomorrow?”

Kara looks at Lena with uncertainty. “Oh, um, it depends on whether or not Lena needs to go anywhere.”

“I’ll be fine, Kara. Besides, I drove here myself, didn’t I?”

“True, but who knows what destruction you left in your wake,” Kara says and then quickly realizes, again, that she just spokes to her boss the way she would speak to any of her friends. “Oh, gosh, I’m so sorry. That was totally out of line.”

A smiles spreads across Lena’s face slowly and she barks out a laugh. “You’ll be happy to know that I drive like a grandmother, so no one was hurt on my way here.”

“I can’t imagine a grandmother driving a Maserati,” Alex joins in with a snicker. “Anyway, we’d better go. See you tomorrow.” Eliza and Alex leave the apartment and Lena takes one more look around to see if anything else needs to be cleaned up.

“I guess I should head out, as well,” she says, grabbing her coat off of the hook and her bag from the couch.

“Oh, okay,” Kara responds with a look of disappointment. “Well, if you do need to go somewhere tomorrow, just call. I only have brunch with my mom and Alex planned, but the rest of the day is free.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you, Kara.” Lena opens the door to the apartment and Kara follows behind.

“I’ll walk you out,” she says, putting on a pair of shoes haphazardly.

“You don’t need to, really,” Lena said, trying to relieve herself of some guilt, because Kara still felt the need to work when she wasn’t on the clock.

“I don’t mind. Honest!” Kara closes the door behind her and they walk toward the elevator together. On the ground floor, Kara speeds ahead a little to open the front door of the building and once Lena unlocks the door to her car, Kara does the same thing and rushes ahead to open the driver’s side door. Lena laughs and shakes her head, thanking Kara while climbing in.

“I mean it, Lena. If you need to drive somewhere, just say the word.”

“Thank you, Kara. Have a nice night,” Lena replies while she sticks the keys into the ignition.

“See you later, boss,” Kara answers with a wide grin and shuts the door gently.

Lena pulls away from the curb and looks in her rearview mirror. Kara is still standing on the sidewalk, watching her drive away. She replays the night’s events in her head and she can’t remember the last time she’d felt so included, like part of a family. Even after she’d been adopted by the Luthors, she never felt like she belonged. She was always the outsider with the darkest hair and the lightest skin. No matter how hard she tried to fit in, Lillian or Lex were there to remind her that she was there because of them.

But with Kara and her friends and family, it was instantaneous. Everyone was so warm and didn’t judge her based on her name or how well her company is being run. It felt nice. Back at her apartment, she changes into more comfortable clothing and gets ready for bed. Her phone buzzes on the nightstand and she sees a text from Kara.

 **Kara:** Please let me know when you get home. Grandmas have trouble seeing in the dark. :)

Lena laughs and replies, saying she just got home. Almost immediately, she receives another text.

 **Kara:** Sweet dreams, boss!

Lena puts her phone back on the nightstand and climbs underneath the covers. Her bed feels especially empty and she doesn’t remember who it was that convinced her to get a king sized bed, but they clearly had no idea what they were talking about, or weren’t single. She sighs as she runs her hand across the empty mattress next to her and wonders how awkward it would be if she started dating again. Normally, she didn’t care about her love life, but it feels like there’s something lodged in her chest like a splinter, causing a dull ache that won’t go away. She picks her phone back up and looks up an app. Before she can change her mind, she installs some random dating app, locks her phone, and throws it back on the nightstand, turning away onto her side as if she can pretend it doesn’t exist.

Dating. 

_Dating._

Just the thought of it makes her feel kind of queasy, but maybe it’ll scratch some metaphorical itch, or whatever. Maybe by the time Christmas rolls around, she won’t have to spend it at home alone, or with her employee. It’s a pipe dream, but at least she can have a little fun in the meantime.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey pals, posting this a day early, because I need that sweet, sweet validation.
> 
> This chapter is going to have some Lena/Other scenes and I know that's not everyone's bag, so if you want to skip them, I've marked the sections with asterisks (**) at the beginning and end for easy searching. None of it is smut, though. Hope you enjoy jealous!Kara!

Lena ends up staying in the next day, because she feels guilty pulling Kara away from her family just to drive her somewhere. She answers some e-mails and drafts a few reports while watching reruns of _Law and Order: SVU_. Her phone vibrates on her coffee table and she picks it up. She furrows her brow when she sees a notification from one of her apps. The dating app she downloaded the night before was reminding her to make a profile. She’d completely forgotten about it until then.

She opens the app and creates a profile. Making sure not to add anything that will expose her as who she really is, she answers questions vaguely and adds one photo of her that only shows the profile of her face. It’s completely overwhelming and she starts to panic, so she closes the app and buries herself in her work. Within a half hour, her phone is buzzing and pinging all over the place with people interested. She flips through all of the interested parties’ profiles, some men and some women. She raises her eyebrow and doesn’t even remember adding her sexual preference, but it’s fine. One particular person catches her eye and her thumb hovers over the little heart icon in the corner.

“Oh, what the hell,” she mutters to herself and lets her thumb press down, showing the person that the interest is mutual. She receives an in-app message from the person with a hand waving emoji. With a sigh, she says hello. They talk back and forth for the next hour, getting to know each other. She finds out his name is Jack and he’s also the CEO of a company. That should make things slightly easier when it comes to talking shop. They agree to meet up for dinner the next night and Lena actually feels a little excited. The man was fairly attractive – dark skin, thick beard. She can do this. She can go on a date like a normal person.

The night of the date comes around and Lena is finishing up the last bit of work. She texts Kara to let her know she’s ready to go and Kara texts back, saying she’s right outside. Lena packs up and heads down. The security man at the door opens the front door of the building for her and tips his cap as she leaves. Kara’s waiting with the passenger door of the town car open and closes it gently behind her once she’s inside.

“Good evening, Le—I mean, Miss Luthor. How was your day?”

“It was fine, Kara. And you can keep calling me Lena.”

“Oh no, it’s unprofessional. Am I taking you to your apartment?”

Lena rifles through her purse, looking for her phone. “Actually, no. I have a date and I need you to take me to the restaurant.”

“A-a date?” Kara stammers.

Lena looks up and sees Kara looking at her through the mirror. “Is there something wrong?”

“Wrong? No, not at all. Um, where’s the restaurant?”

Lena reads out the address from her phone and Kara pulls away without another word. The drive there is strangely quiet, not even any music coming from the radio. The only noise is coming from the car’s engine and from the tires on the road. Fifteen minutes later, the car pulls up in front of the restaurant and Kara parks in the temporary drop-off spot. She dutifully opens Lena’s door for her and closes it once she’s out.

“I’ll, I’ll text you if I need to be picked up,” Lena says nervously, hinting that she may go home with her date.

“Of course, Miss Luthor,” Kara replies, not meeting her eyes. “Enjoy your date,” she says, emphasizing the ‘t’.

Lena walks up to the front of the restaurant and glances over her shoulder. Kara is already back in the driver’s seat and pulling away from the curb, not waiting until she’s inside. She walks in and gives her name to the front of the house and she’s escorted to the back of the restaurant. Her date is already sitting down and stands once he sees her.

“You must be Jack,” she says as she walks up.

“And you must be Lena.” He holds out his hand for her to take, which she does, and he gestures toward her seat.

**

The date goes relatively well; they have a lot in common and understand what each of their jobs entail, which means neither of them actually has time to date regularly. With that understood, Lena invites Jack back to her apartment and he, of course, agrees. Lena texts Kara and asks her to come pick her up. Shortly after, Lena receives a response, saying that Kara is in front of the restaurant. They split the bill and head outside. The door to the car is open and Kara is standing there, waiting, but once she sees Jack walking toward the car, her mouth falls into a frown. She doesn’t say anything, though, and closes the door behind them, the car rocking a little from the force. Once she’s in the front seat and is instructed to take them to Lena’s apartment, she closes the divider. Lena frowns for a moment, but it’s wiped away once she feels warm breath on her neck.

They arrive in front of the apartment building and Jack climbs out, opening Lena’s door for her. Kara stops and huffs when she sees it and gets back into the car. Lena turns to say goodnight, but Kara has already shut her door and Jack is pulling her toward the building impatiently. They’re both a little tipsy, so they aren’t walking very straight and Lena’s fumbling with her keys and struggling to line it up with the keyhole. She’s giggling and finally unlocks the door, but they’re met with the realization that she still has to unlock her apartment door, too. Luckily, she can do so biometrically with her fingerprints and an eye scanner. It pays to be the CEO of a company that has top of the line technology.

Lena tells Jack to make himself at home and he’s welcome to raid her bar while she changes her clothes. She draws the curtains in her bedroom and sees that Kara is still parked in front of her apartment. With a foggy head, she clumsily types out a text to Kara, telling her she can go home. She watches Kara take her phone out of her pocket, read the text, and stick the phone back in her pocket without responding. Frowning, Lena texts her again and tells her that she’s fine and Kara doesn’t need to wait. Again, Kara reads the text and doesn’t reply.

She throws her phone onto the bed in frustration and changes into a t-shirt and some tights before rejoining Jack in the living room. He’d poured out a couple of glasses of wine for the both of them and was sitting on her couch. They don't get past a couple of sips before they start kissing and running their hands against one another. Jack’s beard scrapes itself across Lena’s face and neck. She yelps when he scoops her up in his arms and walks them both toward her bedroom and he lays her down gently onto the mattress.

Her heart starts racing with anticipation once he begins to unbuckle his belt. It had been a long – really long – time since she’s had sex and she could do much worse than Jack. They begin to remove their clothing, tossing it around the room and Lena’s breathing becomes heavier once she’s laying on her back and Jack is kissing her everywhere. He holds her arms above her head and leans in, whispering, “Don’t move or I’ll have to punish you.” Lena struggles a bit against his hands, but he’s too heavy.

**

There’s a crash that comes from her front door that causes Jack to jump off of her. Standing in the doorway is a figure covered in shadow and it’s breathing heavily. Lena squints and turns on her lamp, exposing her driver as the intruder.

“Kara?”

“I—oh gosh, you aren’t—he’s not—I’m so sorry,” she covers her eyes and turns around. “I’ll, uh, I’ll just go. I’m sorry about your door. I’ll fix it.” And just like that, she leaves the apartment.

Lena and Jack look at each other, not exactly sure what the fuck just happened.

“I should probably go,” Jack says, climbing out of bed in search of his pants. “Early meeting and all that.”

“Right,” Lena says curtly, finding her shirt and throwing it over her head. Jack lets himself out and Lena flops back onto her pillows. She sits back up again and walks over to the window, peering outside. Kara is pacing back and forth in front of the town car with her hands on her head. Jack stops to say something to her and pats her on the shoulder before hailing a cab. Lena grabs her phone and shoots off a text to Kara.

**Lena:** We need to talk. Come up, please.

Lena watches Kara take the phone out of her pocket and read the text. She hangs her head before sulking toward the apartment door. Lena gets out of bed and waits for Kara in her kitchen. When her driver arrives, she steps over the broken apartment door and winces.

“Do you want to explain what happened?” Lena asks with her arms crossed.

“I thought he was hurting you,” Kara says weakly.

“How could you possibly know when you were downstairs? Were you spying on me?”

Kara shakes her head. “No, of course not! I just—I can hear things better than most people. And I can kind of see really far.”

Lena points to her door. “And that?”

“I work out?”

Well, Kara _does_ have muscular arms, but her door is reinforced steel and the locks are state of the art, designed by her to be unhackable and unpickable.

“You want to try again?” Lena asks with a quirked eyebrow.

Kara sighs. “Okay, but can we sit down first?” Lena gestures toward the couch and Kara sits down; Lena sits in the adjacent chair.

“I’m not exactly… normal,” Kara says slowly, testing the waters. “I’m a little stronger than most people and have heightened senses.” Lena doesn’t say anything, so Kara continues. “And I can do this.” She takes one of the wine glasses from the table and holds it in her hand. She blows gently on it and the glass starts getting icy, causing Lena’s eyes to widen. Kara then stares at the glass intensely until her eyes start to glow red and beams shoot out of it until the liquid inside of the glass starts to bubble.

“Holy shit,” Lena says under her breath. “So, you’re one of them?”

“An alien? Yeah,” Kara says, lowering her head. “I don’t tell people, because I never know who I can trust. People who act like your friends tend to abandon you once they find out you’re different.”

Unsurprisingly, Lena can relate. She sits back in her chair, completely gobsmacked. She had no idea that her dorky, seemingly normal, driver was an alien. She has no problem with it, of course, but she usually made it a point to know everything about her employees and prided herself in being observant. Kara had never given anything away.

“Are you going to fire me?” Kara asks meekly, wringing her hands on her lap.

“What? No. I mean, you did interrupt me possibly having an orgasm for the first time in over a year, but that’s not a huge deal.”

“From that guy?” Kara asks skeptically.

“Yeah, you’re right. Probably not,” Lena laughs. “But no, I’m not going to fire you. It’s hard to find good help these days, especially when your brother is actively trying to kill you and your mother would rather you didn’t exist.”

Kara perks up a bit. “Well, now that you know who I really am, I can double as a bodyguard.”

Lena grins. “I’ll be sure to let accounting know to adjust your salary.”

Kara stands up and walks over to the door that she ripped off its hinges. She lines it back up with the doorframe and uses her heat vision to weld it back, so that it will at least open and close again. She says she’ll pay for the repairs, but Lena waves her off, saying she’ll have someone come in and get it done in the morning.

“I really am sorry, Miss Luthor. He was on top of you and holding your hands down and said those things. I thought he was hurting you.”

Lena reaches over and squeezes one of Kara’s biceps, momentarily forgetting what she was going to say. Maybe Kara really did work out. “It’s fine, Kara. Really. I appreciate you being concerned for my safety, but I am an adult and I can take care of myself. In the future, please trust my judgement.”

Kara nods. “Of course, Miss Luthor. Anyway, I should probably let you get to sleep. I’ll be on-call this weekend, so let me know if you need anything.”

“I will. Thank you, Kara.”

Kara leaves with a nod and Lena takes a deep breath, finally able to relax. Lena goes over the night in her head. She’d had a date with a man - a rather handsome man - took him home, tried to have sex with said man, got interrupted by her driver, found out her driver is an alien. She couldn’t help but laugh.

The next few weeks go smoothly with Lena and Kara returning to their normal routine. Kara drives Lena to work and on mornings Lena has early meetings, Kara has a bagel waiting for her. Then Lena works for at least twelve hours and Kara drives her home, still opening every door for her and waiting until she’s safely inside before she leaves. They’ve added dinner to the mix multiple times, though, because Kara knows Lena doesn’t eat unless someone reminds her to.

One night, they stop at a local pizza place that’s open late and while they’re waiting for their pizzas to be ready, a shady man walks through the door. He looks skittish and has a hand inside of his jacket pocket. Kara watches him like a hawk and balls her hands into fists when she sees him walking toward their booth.

When he stands in front of them, Lena looks at him and sneers. “Can we help you with something?”

“You Lena Luthor?” he asks gruffly.

“Yes, I am.”

The man opens his coat and brandishes a firearm. “Give me all of your money and jewelry.”

“Sir, I would highly advise against this,” Kara warns, squeezing her fists tighter and gritting her teeth.

“You should listen to her,” Lena adds, as she begins taking off her watch.

“Shut up! Hurry the fuck up,” the man says, ignoring both of their warnings and points the gun at Lena. 

When the man looks away for a split second, Kara reaches for the gun and squeezes it in her hand, breaking it into a million pieces. The man looks at in horror and takes a step back when Kara stands up. She grabs the man by the back of the neck and slams him onto the table, but not hard enough to break it, his head facing Lena.

“Apologize.”

The man grunts, but says nothing. Kara twists his wrist that she’s holding behind his back just so and he cries out in pain.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Please, I wasn’t going to shoot you. It wasn’t even loaded.”

Satisfied, Kara drags the man out of the pizza parlor‘s door and shoves him onto the sidewalk.

“It may be time to find a new line of work,” Kara says before walking back inside. She sits back down in the booth and everyone inside starts to cheer, including Lena.

“My hero,” she says with a wry smile.

Kara blushes and sits back down. “Oh, pizza!” She grabs a slice and shoves it in her mouth. She swallows and watches Lena, who picks up a knife and fork. “What are you doing?”

“Eating my pizza?”

Kara frowns. “With cutlery?”

“It’s greasy.”

“That’s why it’s good! Put those away.”

Lena puts the knife and fork down and places her hands on the table, trying to figure out how to pick up the slice in the least messy way possible. She dabs at it with a napkin and Kara watches with an amused look on her face.

“Does that happen often?

“Not as often as you’d think, but often enough that it’s scared away quite a few drivers,” Lena replies, taking a timid bite of her pizza. Kara was right; eating with your hands does make it taste better. Lillian never allowed her and Lex to have pizza when they were children, so this was a brand new adventure for her.

“I won’t be scared off,” Kara assures her. “I can handle a few attempted robberies.

Lena smiles in between bites of her pizza. “That’s nothing. Just wait until my brother decides it’s time for my quarterly murder attempt.”

Kara frowns at that. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Lena looks up. “I appreciate that, but I’ve managed to live through them for this long. I think I’m getting pretty good at thwarting his attempts.”

“Still, I’m supposed to protect you. It’s in my new job description,” Kara says, reaching across the table to place her hand on top of Lena’s. Lena lets it linger for a moment before moving it and finishing off her slice of pizza.

They leave a generous tip on their table before they leave, since Kara actually dented the table a little when she slammed the robber’s head down. Kara drives them back to Lena’s apartment and after opening both doors for her, Lena bids Kara goodnight. And, as usual, Kara doesn’t leave right away.

**Lena:** Go home, Kara. I’ll be fine.

**Kara:** I’m going to patrol for a little while. It’ll make me feel better to know that you’re safe.

Lena gives up trying to convince her driver that she’s safe enough, so she gets ready for bed. As she drifts off to sleep, the last hazy image in her mind is that of Kara forcing the robber to apologize to her and the smile she had on her face when she did. That night, she dreams of limbs intertwined and skin touching skin. Hot breath and hungry kisses blaze trails across her body, and she can’t remember the last time she’s felt so much pleasure. Her eyes open and she sees familiar blue eyes staring at her, the eyes of her driver.

She wakes up with a start and feels the arousal that gathered beneath her legs, making a mess of her panties. She rubs her eyes and looks at the light shining through her window. Falling back onto her pillows, she wills her heart to calm itself and looks at her phone sitting on the nightstand. The embarrassment she feels after having a sex dream about her employee is insurmountable and she immediately opens the dating app. Searching through a few profiles, she settles on one and presses on the heart icon.

Veronica Sinclair.

They set up a date for that night and Lena hopes it will take her mind off of Kara. She really hopes that Kara can’t read her mind and makes a mental note to ask her what exactly all of her powers are.

Lena sends a text to Kara, asking her to pick her up from L-Corp at seven and that she has another date. Kara doesn’t respond, but when seven rolls around, Lena heads down to the garage and sees Kara standing outside of the car.

“Miss Luthor,” she greets as she opens the door.

“Hello, Kara.”

Kara turns the car on without a word and drives out of the parking garage.

“How was your day?” Lena asks, trying to ease the confusing tension.

“It was fine, thank you for asking,” Kara replies stiffly. “Where to?”

Lena reads out the address to the restaurant where she’d made a reservation and Kara continues driving silently. They pull up in front of the restaurant and Kara gets out slowly, walking over to Lena’s door and opening it.

“Thank you, Kara. I’ll call you when I’m done.”

**

“I’ll be parked nearby,” Kara answers without looking at her and gets back into the driver’s seat. Lena nods and walks inside and is escorted to her table. A beautiful, tall woman stands up to greet her.

“Wow, your photo is nothing compared to what you look like in person,” she says.

Lena ducks her head. “Veronica, I presume?”

“That would be me,” Veronica answers, offering her hand. Lena takes it and Veronica pulls it toward her suddenly and places a kiss on Lena’s knuckles. "Had I known I'd be on a date with _the_ Lena Luthor, I would have prepared better."

"I don't use my real name on the app. Imagine how many golddiggers would be after me if I did," Lena smiles wryly. Also, imagine if someone her brother pays found her, she thinks to herself.

They sit down and order some wine and Veronica tells her all about the casino business. Lena listens with rapt attention, but in all honestly, she kind of wishes Kara was there, which completely defeats the purpose of her going on this date in the first place.

By the end of dinner, they’re both three glasses of wine in and Lena quickly texts Kara that they’re ready to go. As they exit the restaurant, Kara is waiting there with the door open and an emotionless look on her face. Lena and Veronica are giggling and touching each other’s arms while they stumble into the car and Kara closes the door behind them. The door is shut a little roughly behind her and Lena notices a hand-sized imprint in the frame. 

“My apartment, please, Kara,” Lena orders and she swallows a moan when she feels a hand slowly climbing its way up her thigh. Veronica leans in and presses her lips just underneath Lena’s ear and she feels her entire body start to tingle. There’s a crunching sound coming from the front of the car and Lena notices that the steering wheel is misshapen before the divider of the car is raised up. Veronica continues her ministrations all the way back to the apartment and she opens the door before Kara can walk around fast enough. Kara frowns while she watches the two women laugh as they walk up to the front door, but Lena pauses before turning back toward the car.

“Goodnight, Kara,” she says gently.

“Goodnight, Miss Luthor,” Kara replies with a tight-lipped smile.

Lena unlocks her apartment door and drops her keys onto her kitchen counter, along with her purse and coat. Veronica moves in behind her and presses herself up against Lena’s back, placing both hands on the kitchen counter and kissing her bare shoulder. Lena exhales and her breath shudders at the touch. She turns around to face Veronica, who has a hungry look on her face. As she leans in, she brushes her lips against Lena’s before closing the last bit of distance between them and kisses her hard. She presses Lena up against the counter and the edge digs into her back painfully, but she doesn’t care.

She directs Veronica back toward the living room and the couch that sits in the center, pushing her onto the cushions. Veronica lets out a surprised yelp and smirks.

“Lena Luthor enjoys being in charge, I see,” she quips.

“Sometimes,” Lena replies as she hikes up her dress and straddles Veronica on the couch. As she plants her hands on top of the couch and continues kissing Veronica, her mind starts to wander. She wonders if Kara is still waiting outside of the apartment, she wonders if she can hear them right now. Hands start pawing at her back and start slipping the straps of her dress down her shoulders and lowering the zipper. She tries to shut out her thoughts, but they’re loud and they’re very present. She shakes her head slightly, trying to clear her mind and lifts her dress over her head and tosses it to the floor.

“Take me to bed,” Lena growls and stands, offering Veronica a hand.

Veronica smirks and takes her hand, allowing herself to be led to the bedroom. Once inside, she pulls Lena toward her and pushes her up against the wall. She lifts one of Lena’s thighs up and wraps it around her hip. She attacks the soft skin of her neck, biting and sucking, leaving red marks in her wake. Lena can’t help the noises that come out of her mouth as she grips the back of Veronica’s neck with one of her hands. She also can’t help but look out her bedroom window and think about Kara’s car being out there on the street.

“Hey,” Veronica says softly. “Are you still here?”

Lena blinks owlishly. “Yes, yes, sorry. I’m here.” She kisses Veronica, tugging at her lower lip until she moans. Veronica drags both of them back toward the bed and lays Lena down in the middle of it. She crawls up her lithe body and hovers above her. If Lena blinks, she can swear she sees blonde curls and electric blue eyes, just like her dream. Instead, she shuts her eyes tight and begs her mind to free her from the intrusive thoughts of Kara. As she feels Veronica’s lips moving down her stomach to the elastic of her panties, her heart starts beating faster and she grips the dark sheets at her sides. She can do this, she can let go. But once she feels lips on her inner thigh and sees hands adorned in unrecognizable rings and brown hair, she panics.

“Wait.”

Veronica freezes and sits up. “Everything okay?”

Lena covers her face with her hands and leans against the headboard. “I’m sorry, I can’t.”

Veronica looks at her sincerely. “Bad break-up?”

Lena shakes her head. “No, I—I don’t know. It isn’t you, I promise.”

“Hey, it’s fine,” Veronica says, squeezing Lena’s hand with her own. “I’m going to go.” She gets up and searches for her clothes that were thrown around the room. After she gets dressed, she stops in the doorway of the bedroom. “If you change your mind, you have my number.” Lena gives her a nod and she watches her leave.

**

She falls back onto the bed, but her curiosity gets the better of her and she gets up and looks out her window. Just as she suspected, Kara’s town car was sitting across the street and as if she sensed her, Lena’s phone buzzes on the nightstand.

**Kara:** Are you okay?

**Lena:** I’m fine, you can go.

A wave of irritation fills Lena and she throws her phone down. For the second time, she’d sent someone home before they’d been able to finish the night. She's upset that she can't understand her feelings and that it's affecting her pitiful excuse for a love life. Burying her head in her pillow, she prays for sleep to take her and wishes for a dreamless sleep, free from thoughts of her blonde alien bodyguard. Sleep doesn’t come, though, and Lena’s frustration begins to boil over. She’d had a beautiful woman in her bed, kissing her, wanting her, but she couldn’t go through with it and couldn’t understand why.

She stares up at her ceiling and begins tracing random patterns on her bare stomach. She hadn’t bothered to get dressed after Veronica left and the coolness of the sheets on her skin almost felt like skin. Toying with the elastic band of her underwear, she slides her hand underneath it and runs her hand through the coarse hairs. Part of her feels embarrassed, but she pushes that down. Why shouldn’t she get herself off? If she can't let someone else do it, she might as well do it herself.

She dips a finger through her folds, the leftover arousal from earlier still there. Trying to picture Veronica in her mind, head between her legs, she touches herself, but it’s not getting her anywhere. Her mind switches to Jack, his strong frame held above her, but it does nothing for her. Finally, she thinks of someone else with their gentle blue eyes looking down at her, with golden hair draping down around her face. Her breathing starts to pick up as she imagines them kissing down her neck and across her chest. She pinches a nipple between her fingers and thumb, pretending it’s their mouth and she gasps. She continues building herself up, feeling her orgasm rising, chasing it determinedly. Finally, it comes and she cries out with Kara’s name escaping her throat and pouring out all over her body and the bed and the room. When her heartbeat slows and the realization of what just happened hits her, she covers her face with her hands and sighs. Soon after, she falls asleep with the bitter taste of shame coating her lips.

For the next few weeks, she notices that Kara is having trouble holding eye contact with her and whenever she does, a faint blush forms across her cheeks. Lena continues trying to date, and each time she either goes home alone or it ends with her kicking the other person out. And each time, Kara is there, waiting outside, making sure she’s okay afterwards.

One night, after she’s sent her last date failure home, there’s a pit deep beneath Lena’s chest that hurts so much that she asks Kara to come up. _I don’t want to be alone,_ she texts. There’s a gentle rapping at her balcony door and it surprises her. She pads across the living room and opens the door with a gasp. Kara is floating in the air, just outside of the balcony railing.

“I—what—you can do that?”

“Sure. There are a lot of things I can do.”

Lena moves to the side and lets Kara in. Her driver floats over the balcony and lands gently, walking inside the apartment.

“Would you like something to drink?” Lena offers.

“No, thank you,” Kara replies, sitting down on the couch.

Lena sits down next to her, leaving plenty of space between them. “I wanted to apologize to you. It must be really strange to have to drive your boss all around town and then back to her apartment with her one-night stands.”

“It’s my job, Miss Luthor,” Kara replies simply.

“I just wanted you to know that I didn’t sleep with any of them. I tried—I mean, I started to, but I couldn’t go through with it,” Lena says almost guiltily. She doesn’t know why she’s telling Kara any of this. It’s none of her business, but she feels the need to explain.

“That’s… I’m sorry,” Kara answers.

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for,” Lena laughs humorlessly. “The problem seems to be me. There’s a reason why I don’t date and don’t have many relationships with people. You’ve been my longest relationship – professional relationship,” she corrects herself quickly.

“It must be lonely,” Kara says, finally meeting her eyes.

Lena shrugs. “I’m used to it. It’s hard when I’m married to my work and have to constantly wonder if the person I’m seeing is just someone my brother’s sent to get close to me, so he can keep tabs on me or find out where I am.” She lets out a deep, bone tired sigh and Kara just sits and watches her. It’s unnerving, but it feels like she’s being examined under a microscope.

“You look tired,” Kara observes, continuing to stare at her. This type of gazing usually made her incredibly uncomfortable and she’d normally look away or try to change the subject, but the way that Kara stares at her, almost revering her, like she's trying to understand everything about her with just a look, chips away at the armor that she had spent years building up.

“I am tired,” she admits. And she is. She’s tired of fighting, of always having to appear strong, of always having to prove herself to her mother and fend off her brother.

“You should get some sleep,” Kara says, taking Lena’s glass and rinsing it in the sink.

Lena stands and wrings her hands nervously. “Will you stay?” Kara looks up at her suddenly. “Just until I fall asleep. I know it’s really awkward of me to ask this, but I—“

“I’ll stay,” Kara interrupts, smiling gently. Lena leads them both to the bedroom and she lies down on one side of the bed, Kara climbing in beside her, but staying on top of the covers.

“Thank you,” Lena murmurs with her heavy eyes struggling to stay open.

“You’re welcome, Miss Luthor,” Kara replies, tucking a stray strand of hair behind Lena’s ear. The gesture feels innocent enough and Lena is able to write it off as such, completely ignoring the fact that her employee is in her bed. Everyone craves human contact, even aliens, she imagines. It doesn’t mean anything. Soon after, she falls into a deep slumber and doesn’t even stir when Kara whispers _sweet dreams_ before she leaves.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for all of the comments and kudos y'all are leaving. Everyone's being so great. As usual, you can find me on tumblr @bearpantaloons or Twitter @tapdancinghippo. Come say hi!

Something changes between Lena and Kara after the night Kara stays. Lena gives up on her dating app and uninstalls it. She invites Kara to eat with her after she drives her home after a long day at work. They appear to be more comfortable around one another, sharing jokes and other parts of themselves. Kara tells her about her sister Alex and how she’s this big shot FBI agent. She admits that she’s a little jealous of her, because she never got that opportunity, being an alien. She never would have cleared the background check.

“I’m kind of surprised you cleared my background check,” Lena observes. “It’s pretty extensive.”

“Alex helped me come up with a human backstory. My birth certificate and social security card are all forged, but the FBI can pretty much create anyone they want.”

Lena hums and takes a sip of wine. “And how did you… arrive?”

“My planet was dying, so my parents sent me here. My cousin was sent ahead of me and he introduced me to the Danvers, and they adopted me. Want to know what’s weird? I never had these powers before coming here. Your sun energizes me, unlike our red sun.”

Lena looks at her in disbelief. “So, you never knew you had powers until you got here?” Kara shakes her head. “Incredible,” Lena says under her breath. “What else can you do?”

Kara thinks for a moment. “I think I’ve shown you almost everything. Oh, wait, hang on.” She stands up and opens the balcony door, floating down to the street. “Watch!” She yells up at her and speeds off. When she’s back in the blink of an eye, she’s holding a bouquet of flowers. “These are from the park in front of L-Corp,” she shouts up before coming back up to the apartment.

Lena barks out a laugh and takes the flowers from Kara, using a tall glass from her cupboard as a vase. “They’re beautiful, thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Kara grins and closes the balcony door, locking it behind her. She hops up onto one of the chairs at the breakfast bar and watches Lena chop up some vegetables for their dinner. Kara reaches over and takes the knife out of her hand, also grabbing the cutting board. With super speed, she chops every vegetable up in seconds.

Lena gawks at her for a moment and then snorts. “Show-off.” Kara smiles at her proudly and hands back the cutting board and knife. This is doing nothing to temper the budding feelings that she has for Kara. She’s tried to deny them, but they’re still there in the deep recesses of her heart, lodged in between her good sense and practicality. Sometimes, she thinks Kara might feel the same way when she catches a stolen glance or a more-than-friendly touch, but then the moment is gone just as quickly and Kara is changing the subject. She convinces herself that she’s projecting and that it’s all in her head. Kara is her driver and bodyguard, and she’s a professional.

By the time dinner is ready, Lena joins Kara at the breakfast bar and they both eat together. Kara lets out a long moan that makes Lena feel warm all over and she does everything in her power not to look up, burying her face in her food.

“This is so good,” Kara gushes. “Where did you learn how to cook?”

Lena chuckles. “I don’t do anything half-assed. I taught myself.”

Kara’s mouth gapes wide open. “You could, like, open your own restaurant – I mean, if you ever get tired of being a CEO.”

Lena feels a flush traveling from her neck up to her cheeks and she continues eating silently. She wasn’t used to praise. Most of the time, it was just her mother berating her for not being as successful as her brother when he was head of the company, or employees giving her false praise out of fear. But Kara… Kara gave it sincerely. She meant every word. When she finally looks up at Kara, the blonde is giving her a look that she can't quite pin down. It's a mixture between adoration and nervousness, but it’s gone in a flash once she notices that Lena’s looking at her.

Kara breaks her gaze and shakes her head, clearing her throat. “I, um, I should probably let you get back to—uh, work? Wait, no, it’s nighttime. I should get back to work. Patrolling. I should patrol around the block a few times.” She stands up and quickly washes her plate in the sink, leaving it in the dish drainer.

Not really wanting Kara to leave yet, she stands, as well. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah! Everything is fine,” Kara replies with a forced smile. “I just, um, I heard something outside, so I’m going to check it out. Make sure everything is on the up and up.” Kara is, apparently, a terrible liar. She stands in the doorway to the apartment. “The new door is nice, by the way. Very sturdy.” She knocks on it a couple times. “Call me if you need anything.”

Lena nods and watches Kara walk quickly through the hallway toward the elevator. Later that evening, she stares across her balcony, seeing if she can spot Kara patrolling, or whatever it was that she was actually doing, but she never sees her. After finishing her glass of wine, she clears the table and cleans up the kitchen before getting ready for bed. Before drifting off to sleep, she swears she sees the silhouette of her driver her in her bedroom window, watching over her.

* * *

 News breaks out that Lena’s brother Lex is planning something big. He’d been gathering resources and was making unusual television appearances and even giving vague interviews. Lena watches it all in her office, wondering what he’s up to and how he would most certainly involve her. Kara makes sure to remain close over the next few weeks, unsure of what Lex has planned, and not wanting anything to happen to Lena.

Lena’s working late one night; her assistant had already been sent home hours ago, so she was alone. There’s a sudden explosion behind her and she’s thrown from her chair as glass flies everywhere. A man in a black suit hovers above her and stalks toward her.

“Your brother sends his regards,” the man says with a robotic voice, raising his hand and pointing what looks like a weapon directly at her. Before he can fire, he’s pushed into the opposite wall by something and Lena holds up her arm to protect herself from falling debris. The man is being punched by someone – _Kara_. He’s thrown to the ground and Kara rips the weapon right off of the man’s suit and tosses it to the side.

“Hey, wait, wait!” the man yells. “Lex didn’t say anything about a guard dog.”

“Guess you should’ve done your research,” Kara sneers, punching him again until he’s knocked unconscious. He lets the limp body fall to the floor before looking in Lena’s direction with worry written all over her face. “Are you okay?”

Lena nods and lets Kara help her stand. “If this was another assassination attempt by my brother, he’s gotten sloppy. This has to be a diversion.”

Kara hums. “We’ll have to be prepared.”

Lena nods in agreement, looking at her demolished balcony and sighs. She e-mails her contractors to have them come fix it as soon as possible.

“Let me take you home,” Kara offers and Lena is too tired to argue. They take the private elevator to the ground floor and Kara leads them toward the car. She opens the door for Lena as she climbs in and leans her head back on the headrest. The drive home is quiet, except for the music playing from the car speakers. When they get to Lena’s apartment, Kara follows her all the way upstairs and waits by the door when Lena walks inside.

“I’ll keep watch outside. I’m not going to let anything get to you,” Kara assures her.

“You don’t have to. The glass is bulletproof, the door is reinforced steel, there’s security on the ground floor. I’ll be safe.”

Kara shakes her head. “That man’s suit was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Something tells me he wouldn’t be firing normal bullets. It’s no big deal, I’ll just patrol like I normally do.”

“You’re always here. Don’t you have a family to go home to?” Lena asks. She feels guilty, because now that Kara’s taken it upon herself to act as a bodyguard, she’s always near Lena. Even when she goes home, she tells Lena she’ll be on-call.

Kara shakes her head. “I only have Alex – well, and my mom, but she’s in Midvale. I guess I make my job my life.”

Lena huffs out a laugh. “Sounds familiar. But, really Kara, if this job is affecting your personal life, I don’t want to get in the way of that. You can take a vacation or go on leave of absence, or-or quit! I can find a new driver.”

Kara looks at her with wide eyes. “Do you want me to go?”

“No, of course not. I just don’t want to be the cause of you not living your life the way you want to.”

“I’m exactly where I want to be,” Kara says with certainty and it makes Lena’s heart skip. She looks over her shoulder and then back at Lena. “Anyway, I should go. I’ll see if anything is happening around here. If you need anything, just call, or you can even just yell for me. I’ll hear you.”

She turns to leave, but Lena calls out her name and she stops.

“Thank you for saving me earlier.”

Kara turns her head and smiles. “Always.” She leaves then and Lena shuts the door, locking it. Taking a deep breath, she sits at the breakfast bar and drains the rest of her wine. She shouldn’t be this calm, she’d nearly died today. As she starts to pour herself another glass of wine, she realizes that maybe she’s not that okay and puts the bottle down. She can’t rely on Kara to save her whenever someone wants her dead. Within the next few days, she increases her security detail and updates all of the locks in her apartment and office, making them virtual fortresses.

When there’s a knock on her door, Lena checks the video feed on her monitor and sees that it’s her assistant, Jess, and Kara. She presses a button underneath her desk and the door unlocks itself.

“Sorry, Miss Luthor. Kara Danvers needed to speak with you,” Jess apologizes. Lena waves them both in and Kara enters, but Jess leaves them and closes the door behind her, the automatic lock clicking.

“Your security seems… intense,” Kara notices. “Not that I’m criticizing you. It’s good to be safe.”

Lena smiles behind her desk and stands up, rounding her desk to walk over to Kara. “I figured my contractors are tired of fixing my windows by now, so I thought I’d try to give them a break. Is there something you needed?”

“Oh! Right, I brought lunch,” Kara answers, holding up a couple of giant paper bags. “Noonan’s,” she chirps happily.

Lena is surprised by the gesture. Kara had never come up to her office with lunch before, not that she’s complaining. She clears off her coffee table and Kara empties out the bags and puts everything down.

“I didn’t know what you liked, so I got every vegetarian thing that they offer.”

Lena snorts a laugh and looks at the stacks of containers. “A salad would have been fine.”

“Oh, I brought salads!” Kara exclaims, separating the containers into more stacks. “These ones are salads, and these are hot dishes. I think I got a pasta, a veggie burger, and a grilled cheese.”

Lena shakes her head at the sight and takes one of the containers, opening it and seeing an apple walnut salad. “This one will do. What are we going to do with all the rest?”

“I’ll eat it,” Kara says simply and takes one of the other containers and sits down on the couch. They eat in companionable silence and Lena keeps wondering why Kara is there. Then it dawns on her that she’s probably there to keep an eye on her, because she’s worried about more attacks. Well, maybe Lena can have a little fun if Kara’s going to babysit her.

“I’ve noticed you eat quite a bit, but you still have a great body. Is your metabolism different from ours?”

Kara flushes all the way up to her ears and has half a grilled cheese stuffed into her mouth. She chews and swallows.

“Uh, yeah, I have a much faster metabolism, so I need to consume more calories.”

“I see. And how is your stamina?” Lena asks with a playful smirk.

“My stamina?” Kara squeaks. “It-it’s good?”

Lena holds back a laugh. “I’m glad to hear that.”

Kara looks at her wrist despite not wearing a watch. “Oh, shoot, I should get back to, uh, patrolling.” She starts stacking up all of the food containers, but leaving the salads for Lena. She’s bumping into everything and stumbling over her own feet on her way to the door. She backs up toward the door and Lena stalks forward, walking up to Kara until her body is pushed up to the containers that are conveniently in the way.

“I’ll see you after work?” Lena asks, summoning her most sultry voice. She sees Kara swallow thickly and watches her blush from her neck all the way up to her hairline. Lena’s lip curls up into a wicked grin.

“Y-yes, after work. I’ll be here with the sex—I mean, the car!” Kara turns suddenly and opens the door, racing out without another word and Lena stifles a laugh. She composes herself and walks over to her assistant’s desk.

“Jess, will you have a dozen donuts sent down to Kara from that place we like on twenty-first?”

“The shop that has the Oreo donuts?”

“That’s the one,” Lena grins and then walks back into her office. She sits back at her desk and about an hour later there’s a knock on her balcony door. She looks back and sees Kara standing there with two donuts in her hands. Lena disengages the locks and opens the door, smiling.

“Kara,” she greets.

“So, Jess brought me some donuts and said they were from you.” She steps inside Lena’s office and holds out one of the donuts. Lena takes it readily and bites into it.

“I did. It’s kind of a ‘thank you’ for lunch, and for everything else that you do.”

Kara waves her off. “It’s my job.”

Lena takes a step forward. “Kara, your job isn’t to buy me lunch. Jess is fully capable of ordering for me and having it delivered.”

“Okay, maybe it was just an excuse to have lunch with you,” Kara blurts out and then clamps her mouth shut.

Lena chuckles. “You don’t have to find excuses to have lunch with me. As long as I’m not in a meeting, you’re welcome to come up anytime. I’ve already let Jess know that you’re to be allowed in whenever you’re here.”

“Oh. Well, okay.”

“Also,” Lena continues, “You can’t keep flying around, expecting no one to notice. Maybe we should make you a super suit like Superman.”

Kara’s eyes light up. “My own suit?”

Lena nods. “My R&D division should be able to whip something up. I’ll consult with them and check in with you to see if you have any suggestions.”

“Oh, I have some notes, actually,” Kara says a little sheepishly. She takes her phone out and opens it to the Notes app, showing it to Lena. There’s a very, very long list of suit ideas, like rocket launcher gauntlets and boots that can turn into skates. Most of the ideas won’t work logically, but there are still quite a few that she can work with. Lena tells Kara to send the list to her.

Over the course of a few weeks, Lena and Kara work together to design a suit that Kara can use when she’s patrolling, or just wants to use her alien persona without exposing her human one.

“These pants have _pockets_!” Kara exclaims excitedly. “And you added the el mayarah.” She looks at the insignia on her chest and traces it with her hand, wiping a stray tear with her other.

“I did some research on Kryptonians,” Lena admits. “My brother had some information in the archives and I dug deeper. Here, watch this.” She gently presses the insignia and an invisible shield covers Kara’s entire body. “Kryptonite shield,” she explains. “I read that it’s the only thing you aren’t impervious to.”

“You’ve thought of everything,” Kara says, looking at Lena with gratuity. “Thank you.”

Lena waves her off. “It’s the least I could do. You’re actively keeping me safe, so I figured if I could help in any way, I should.”

Kara stands in front of Lena with both hands on her hips, in a wide stance. “How do I look?”

“Super,” Lena whispers breathlessly. She shakes her head and walks to the closet, taking out a long, red cape. “Finishing touch.” She clips it to Kara’s shoulders and smooths it out. “Bulletproof and fireproof.”

Kara grins widely. “It’s perfect.” She holds Lena’s gaze a little longer and then clears her throat and looks away, walking toward the balcony. “I should take it out for a spin.”

“I think that’s a great idea,” Lena replies, following her and stepping out onto the balcony, along with Kara. 

With an excited smile, Kara takes one more look at Lena before taking off and zipping across the sky. She knows that the media is going to have a field day with this, but it’s a good thing that she owns CatCo and makes a mental note to contact James later to give him a heads up.

After about an hour of flying around, Kara comes back to L-Corp and changes back into her civilian clothes, holding the folded suit in her hands with a big smile on her face. “The suit is amazing! It’s so aerodynamic and it doesn’t even feel like I have anything on,” she pauses and thinks, “Wait, not like I’m naked, but I just mean it’s not bulky. And did I mention the _pockets_? I’ll bet Superman doesn’t have pockets.”

Lena feels a sense of pride listening to Kara gush about the suit they designed. It’s been a while since she’s been able to work with her hands and it feels good. Kara puts her suit into a paper bag and Lena stares at her.

“Maybe you should start wearing that underneath your clothes, so you don’t have to carry a separate bag. Plus, you can change into it whenever you need to.”

Kara looks down at the bag and then back at Lena. “You’re brilliant.” She speeds into Lena’s office bathroom and changes quickly, coming out holding the cape. “I don’t know how to stuff this into my shirt and pants without me looking all lumpy.”

Lena laughs and takes Kara’s cape. “I’ll work on something for you. Shall we go?”

“Oh, are you done with work? It’s early. Or do you have another date?”

Lena shakes her head. “No date tonight. Actually, I was wondering if you’d like to have dinner with me.”

Kara points at her own chest. “Me?”

Lena laughs. “Yes. For someone who’s really intelligent, you can be really dense sometimes.”

Kara scoffs and tries to act offended, but her cracked smile gives it away. They leave the office and Kara leads them to the black town car.

“Anything in particular you feel like having?” Kara asks while looking in the rearview.

“Surprise me,” Lena replies back with a smile.

Kara nods and pulls away from the curb, driving in a random direction. Lena doesn’t recognize her surroundings and it seems to be a part of the city she’s never bothered to go to before. When they park and Kara opens all of the doors for Lena, they walk into a Chinese restaurant where all of the employees greet Kara as if they’re old friends.

“I kind of come here a lot,” Kara whispers under her breath. “They’ve got the best potstickers.”

They find a seat in an empty booth and Kara immediately orders four plates of potstickers and makes sure to get an order of vegetarian eggrolls for Lena.

“So, uh, none of your dates have stuck?” Kara asks with a mouth full of dumpling. Her eyes widen. “Oh, gosh, I’m sorry. It’s none of my business. I can’t believe I just asked you that.”

Lena laughs. “You don’t have much of a filter, do you?”

Kara grins sheepishly. “Alex tells me that it’s because I’ve always been curious and want to get to know people, but I forget that not everyone wants to talk about themselves. On Krypton, we didn’t really have anything to hide from people. Our entire lives could be found in the archives, and there was no need for dating or courtship, since all of the marriages were arranged based on houses or politics.  So, I guess when I ask questions, I don’t take any of that into account.”

Lena puts her eggroll back onto her plate. “Have you ever dated anyone?”

“Oh, sure, I’ve tried dating a few people, but it never works out. Kinda hard to keep a partner when you can shatter their pelvis just by sneezing.”

Lena raises a questioning eyebrow. “And that’s happened before?”

Kara frowns. “Well, not exactly. Although, I did break a guy’s nose once. He was going in for a kiss and I didn’t realize it, so I turned my head too quickly and – bam – trip to the hospital. I felt so bad and didn’t date anyone for years after that.”

“I can see how that would complicate things,” Lena replies and hums. “You said Krypton had a red sun, right?” Kara nods. Lena starts mulling over something in her head when the rest of their food arrives. They take turns dishing out some onto their plates and continue their conversations about horrible dates.

“So, I was dating this guy in college, and he absolutely had to keep his socks on during sex and it was the strangest thing. I didn’t know if it was because he had webbed feet or really disgusting toenails, or what, but he refused to take them off. Then, one night, we’re drunk off our asses and we take a shower together and he actually took his socks off and guess what was on his foot?”

A crinkle forms between Kara’s eyes as she tries to think of something. “A sixth toe?”

Lena laughs. “No, even better. He had a tattoo of Spongebob giving Patrick’s pointy head a blowjob and he hadn’t been able to get it removed, so he was embarrassed about it.” She laughs harder after remembering. “Anyway, he and I didn’t work out for completely different reasons, one of them being he was a complete asshole.”

Kara chuckles as she eats the last potsticker. “Human dating seems very strange. You have dinner and sometimes have sex, or cohabitate immediately with someone for months or even years before getting married, and sometimes you don’t even get married. Doesn’t it feel like you’re wasting time?”

Lena shakes her head. “No, sometimes it takes that long to know if you’re going to be compatible for the rest of your lives, and even then, sometimes it still doesn’t work out. I guess life for humans is mostly about the short moments that you get with someone and those are what matter. And if you happen to be one of the few who find your life partner, you should consider yourself very lucky.”

Kara frowns and thinks for a moment. “But how do you know if you’ll be compatible for the rest of your lives? It just seems like feelings and people change over time, which is why Kryptonians had arranged marriages, I suppose. If you marry based on politics or what’s best for the people as a whole, there’s less room for error.”

“That’s the thing, you don’t know. Love is fickle and it evolves and changes all the time. Why do you think the divorce rate is so high?” Lena smirks. “But when you get it right, it feels really good. Your brain chemistry changes and it makes everything feel worth it. It’s kind of ridiculous, really.”

“Have you ever been in love?” Kara asks innocently.

Lena thinks back. Has she? She’s been CEO of L-Corp since she was twenty-three and before that, she’d only had flings in college and boarding school. No one stuck. She actually kind of preferred it that way. No attachments made things easier, but it didn’t really help the deep pit of loneliness that she felt.

“Love isn’t really something that’s in the cards for a Luthor. We’re married to the business and it doesn’t leave much space for anything else. I mean, look what happens when a Luthor loves something. My brother killed hundreds of people, because the woman he loved was in love with an alien and he couldn’t handle the rejection.”

Kara sighs. “Then I guess Kryptonians and Luthors are doomed to live loveless lives, huh?”

“Seems that way,” Lena replies with a sad smile on her face.

They fall into a silence and Kara checks the time on her phone and jumps. “Oh, shoot. I was supposed to meet Alex for drinks. Do you mind if we go? You’re more than welcome to come with me.”

“Oh, no, I’d better get home and get some work done,” Lena replies almost regretfully.

“Oh, come on, Miss Luthor. When’s the last time you went out?”

“The last time L-Corp held a gala, which would have been about nine months ago,” Lena answers matter-of-factly.

Kara blinks a few times silently. “Okay, you’re coming out with me.” She grabs Lena by the hand and leads her out to the car, opening the door and letting her in. Kara walks around to the front and starts the engine, heading toward whatever grungy bar she and her sister were meeting at.

When they get there, Kara parks a couple blocks away and they walk together. Lena notes the types of people they pass and there’s an awful lot of plaid flannel and button-ups in the area.

They walk in and Kara finds Alex standing at the bar, ordering a drink.

“Hey! Alex! Look who I got to join us.”

Alex looks at Lena skeptically, but smiles anyway. “Hi, Lena, nice to see you again. What can I order for you?”

“Oh, um, I’ll have a whiskey sour.”

“Coming right up,” Alex replies and turns back to get the bartender’s attention.

Lena looks around more and sees people standing around the bar, mostly women, a few being really handsy.

_Oh._

She leans in toward Kara. “Is this a gay bar?”

Kara looks horrified. “Oh! Uh, yeah, it is. I thought it would be okay, because, you know...”

Lena laughs out loud and shakes her head. “It’s totally fine. I just didn’t know if we were here because we just didn’t want to deal with men hitting on us, or for another reason.”

Kara’s face turns a light shade of pink and she tries to get help from Alex, who is still trying to get their drinks. “Well, Alex has a girlfriend, and I... do not.”

Lena takes Kara’s vague reply as that she isn’t comfortable talking about it, so she drops the subject. After Alex finally gets their drinks, they find a booth to sit in and start making small talk until Alex’s girlfriend walks in and they both ditch Kara and leave her to fend for herself with her boss.

A few minutes of awkward looks and short conversations, a waitress lays a drink in front of Lena.

“From the lady at the bar,” she says.

Lena looks over and spots a woman who raises her glass at her. She’s wearing a leather jacket, black boots, and is sporting an undercut. She isn’t exactly Lena’s type, but a free drink is a free drink.

The table suddenly shakes and Lena turns to see that there’s a broken glass that’s shattered all over the table.

“Oh, crap,” Kara says, trying to wipe up all of the loose glass. “I’m so clumsy. I’m just going to—I’ll go find a towel.” She stands up quickly and walks through the crowd. Lena notices that the woman at the bar is starting to walk over and she’s smiling.

“Hi,” the woman says when she walks up to Lena.

“Hi, thanks for the drink,” Lena replies.

“My pleasure. Was that your girlfriend who was sitting here?” The woman asks, clearly hoping that Lena will say no.

“She’s my—“ Lena’s interrupted by Kara pushing her way back through with a trash can and a towel.

“I found one!” Kara says triumphantly. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” even though she totally meant to interrupt.

“It’s no problem. This is... sorry, I didn’t catch your name,” Lena says to the woman.

“Siobhan,” the other woman replies.

Lena pauses and takes a look at Kara and another look at Siobhan. They’re almost sizing each other up in the most passive aggressive way - Kara is wiping up the table, not really looking at what she’s doing and Siobhan has her arms crossed over her chest.

When it looks like neither one of them is going to budge, Lena reaches over and puts her hand on Kara’s forearm. “Darling, it’s getting late. We should probably get going.” Kara looks at her like she just spoke a foreign language and then it clicks.

“Oh, yeah. Yeah. Right. We have that thing tomorrow.”

Siobhan takes the hint and smiles, but it looks more like a grimace and she walks away.

Kara looks over at Lena dumbfounded. “What was that about?”

“Well, the two of you looked like you were either going to start throwing punches in the middle of the bar, or continue making intense eye contact until your eyes flew out of their sockets, so I decided to put an end to it. I figured it probably wouldn’t have ended very well for her and I don’t know any lawyers who would represent an alien fairly.”

Kara looks embarrassed and finishes cleaning off the table.

“The table is fine, Kara, but we probably should get going. Do you need to tell your sister?”

Kara nods and starts looking around the bar. “Yeah, I’ll just—I’ll go find her if you want to meet me out front.”

Lena nods at her and heads out to the front of the bar. A few stragglers are standing outside, smoking and talking. The air is chilled and Lena regrets not bringing a heavier coat, so she tries to pull the lapels of her thin jacket over her neck to cut the coldness out. She doesn’t notice Siobhan slide up next to her.

“Your girlfriend leave you alone again?” This woman really didn’t know how to take a hint.

Lena smiles politely, but with a hint of disdain behind it. “No, she’s just letting her sister know that we’re leaving.”

Siobhan hums and her tongue snakes out to lick her bottom lip. She leans in close to Lena’s ear and she can feel the warm breath delicately feather across her skin.

“It’s too bad. I could show you a really good time.”

Lena clenches her jaw and turns sharply. “Listen, I don’t know who you think you are, but I’m really not interested, and I’m especially not interested in someone who doesn’t respect the boundaries of a person who is clearly with someone else, so would you kindly crawl back into whatever sewage you came from?”

Siobhan looks shocked and backs away slowly until she’s practically running in the other direction. Lena’s quite proud of herself, but that pride immediately turns into embarrassment when she sees Kara standing at the door, grinning like an idiot.

“That was super attractive,” Kara says, eyes twinkling. She realizes what she’s just said and clears her throat. “I mean, uh, you were right when you said you could handle yourself.”

Lena ducks her head. “I just don’t like it when people can’t understand polite subtlety, or when they can’t seem to take ‘no’ for an answer. I’m sorry I kind of used you back there. I didn’t mean to make things awkward.”

“Oh, no! It’s totally fine. You can use me whenever—I mean, shoot, you can—um, I can be your decoy-fake-not-at-all-real significant other whenever you need me to be. I’ll also add that to my job description.”

Lena shivers and Kara asks if she wants to head to the car. She nods and they start walking down the street. They get to the car and Lena suddenly feels a wave of regret that the night had to be cut short, even though she’s the one who suggested that they leave. As they head to her apartment, she can see Kara’s eyes darting to the rearview every so often. She decides to go for it and ask an awkward question. The night can’t possibly get more awkward.

“Were there same sex relationships on Krypton?”

The car swerves slightly, but Kara rights it immediately. “Um, well, yes there were. We didn’t really marry anyone based on attraction or their sexuality. It was whatever was best for the guild and the city as a whole.”

Lena hums. “I see, and now that you’re here on Earth, how has dating been? I mean, I’m assuming you’ve experienced attraction since we don’t have arranged marriages on this part of the planet.”

She swears she can hear a squeak come from Kara. “Well, like I mentioned earlier, I haven’t really dated, but I guess I have been attracted to both men and women. I just haven’t acted on any of it. Crap, was that too much information?”

Lena laughs. “No, and it’s perfectly fine. You can go at your own pace and when it feels right, you’ll know.”

Kara’s brow crinkles. “Yeah, but I likely won’t be with anyone from here. I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

Lena deflates a little. Just as she's about to reply, she hears Kara yell at her to get down. She ducks her head and braces herself on the seat in front of her and feels the car being jolted and flipped completely off the road. There’s an explosion and heat coming from outside and glass shattering before the car lands upside down and she loses consciousness.

She awakens to the sound of metal screeching and her vision is blurred, probably from blood running down her face, but she turns her head and sees that the car door has been removed.

“Miss Luthor, are you all right?” Kara climbs in and rips her seatbelt free, gently pulling her out of the car and setting her down off to the side. She’s wearing the suit they both designed. “Don’t move, they might come back around. I’ll be right back.” Kara lays her coat on top of Lena and flies off rapidly.

Lena feels pain all over, especially her head and she suspects she’s probably dislocated her shoulder. The town car is slowly burning away and Kara’s not in her periphery. If she had been more alert, she’d probably be panicking right now.

A few minutes later, she hears feet touch down on the ground near her. She blinks her eyes open and Kara’s face is very close to hers. There’s a breeze and Lena turns her head and realizes that they’re hundreds of feet above ground.

“Please don’t freak out. I don’t want to drop you,” Kara says gently as she tightens her grip on Lena’s torso and thigh. “You need to see a doctor.”

Lena shakes her head. “I can’t go to the hospital. Lex has the doctors on his payroll.”

“I’ll take you to Alex. Hang on.”

Lena holds onto Kara’s neck with her good arm as they speed through the air and Kara lands in an alley before walking around to the front and pushing a buzzer in front of the door repeatedly.

“Geez, okay okay. What do you want?”

“Alex, it’s Kara. Let me in, hurry.”

The door unlocks and Kara opens it and races up the stairs, practically floating up them all. Alex is already waiting in front of her apartment with the door open and Kara runs in with Lena.

With eyes wide, Alex asks what happened and Kara stutters and talks too quickly trying to tell her sister what happened.

“Okay, just put her on the kitchen table,” Alex instructs her.

“I think her shoulder is dislocated and she might have a concussion,” Kara says in a panicked voice.

Alex looks over her and pushes on her abdomen. She has Lena sit up and checks her lungs. Grabbing a towel, she hands it to Lena.

“Bite down. This is going to hurt.” She aligns Lena’s shoulder and with a crack and Lena’s pained grunt, her shoulder is locked back into place. Alex then checks her head and dabs at it with a wet cloth.

“This probably won’t need stitches, but we’ll need to keep an eye on her tonight. You’re probably right about the concussion. You’re telling me an alien attacked you?”

Kara nods. “Looked like the same kind that attacked L-Corp, Lex must have a gang of them working for him. I chased them away and brought her here.”

Alex sighs and runs a hand through her short hair. “I knew you using your powers more would draw unwanted attention.”

“If I didn’t, Lena would probably be dead!” Kara exclaims in frustration. “We need to find her brother. He’s the one behind all of this.”

“I know where he is,” Lena says as she breathes shallowly. “He hides in plain sight, because he thinks he’s untouchable.”

“Then let’s show him how wrong he is,” Kara replies, standing in a heroic pose, cape flowing behind her. If Lena hadn’t been concentrating more on murdering her own brother, she probably would have been incredibly aroused.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all, thanks again for keeping up with this fic and being so supportive. I'm going to keep being impatient and probably post earlier and earlier in the coming weeks, because I have too many things I want to write. Two more chapters after this one and then I can work on my next mediocre fic, yay! I have so many ideas, y'all. So. Many. It's a problem.
> 
> So, uh, there's some sex in this chapter. As usual, if you know me in real life, we are never to discuss this. Happy reading!

Kara stays with Lena at Alex’s apartment while Alex leaves to go do some research and planning. She’d been moved to the couch, which was significantly more comfortable than the hard wooden table.

“She works for the FBI,” Kara explains while sitting on the floor in front of the couch. “Apparently, she’s part of a super secret project and can’t tell me about it, but she has a lot of resources that we can use.”

“With our powers combined,” Lena quotes, but the pop culture reference flies right above Kara’s head. She closes her eyes just for a moment, but Kara’s stroking her forehead with her thumb.

“Hey, you can’t fall asleep yet. Concussion, remember?”

Lena groans and her eyes flicker open. Kara's giving her an undistinguishable look, but her eyes are kind and she has a goofy grin on her face. She doesn’t look much like a superhero or a bodyguard at this particular moment.

“You’re going to have to keep me awake, then,” Lena says, almost suggestively. Kara accidentally knocks something off of the table behind her and then kicks the table five feet away, all while Lena claps a hand over her mouth and tries to stifle a laugh.

“I—um—yeah, sure. Oops, I hope that wasn’t expensive. What do you suggest?” Kara asks, fumbling with the stupid furniture that shouldn’t have gotten in her way.

Lena shrugs. “You tell me. My idea of fun is going through work e-mails or drafting grant proposals.”

Kara wrinkles her nose. “Okay, give me a minute.” She walks into Alex’s bedroom and returns with an armful of blankets and pillows. She starts moving chairs and throwing blankets on top of them until she builds a fort around Lena and then climbs inside. Grabbing the remote to the TV, she turns it on and looks through one of the streaming services until she finds the movie she’s looking for.

“The Land Before Time?” Lena asks.

Kara nods emphatically. “It’s one of my favorites. I identified with Littlefoot. He lost his family and his home, but found a group of friends that became his family. I guess I kind of hoped that my life would end up likes his did and I’d find long lost relatives somewhere.”

Lena watches Kara smile sadly before leaning back on a pile of pillows. She joins her and lays another blanket across their laps while the movie’s opening credits start. Kara grabs a bowl of popcorn and uses her heat vision to pop it while they continue watching the movie. Lena knows that Kara is just trying to impress her and it’s actually kind of cute.

By the time the movie ends and Diana Ross sings the end credits song, they hear Alex walk in the door and whisper, “What the hell?”

Kara climbs out and gives her sister a sheepish look. “I was trying to keep Lena awake.”

“So you trashed my living room.”

“It’s not trashed! I just have to fold up some blankets and clean up all of the candy wrappers. I can have it all cleared up in half a second, you know that.”

Alex sighs and shakes her head. “How is it that you’re fifty-one Earth years old and you still act twelve?”

Kara just grins widely until Alex takes a pillow from the floor and whacks her sister across the face with it. Lena watches in amusement and wonders what it would have been like to have a sibling who loved her.

“ _Anyway_ , I checked on some things at work and Lena’s right. Lex is just living it up at one of his properties down by the docks. We can’t tie him to either one of the attacks, besides the fact that the moron told Lena that Lex sends his regards. We don’t have any concrete evidence.”

Lena shakes her head. “No, he’s too smart for that. He’ll keep his distance just enough to not implicate himself, even though everyone knows he’s involved.”

Alex nods. “We’ll have to figure something out, but all of this can wait. Lena, you should be safe to sleep now. You can sleep in my guest room, unless you want one of us to take you home.”

The idea of sleeping in her own bed is really tempting, but she knows that she’s far too tired to go anywhere, so she accepts Alex’s offer. She washes up in the bathroom before borrowing some clothes and climbing into the guest room’s bed. The door’s closed, but she can see the shadow of feet at the bottom. She smiles to herself.

“I can see you hovering there, you know. Come in.”

The door to the room opens slowly and Kara peeks in. “Sorry.” She walks in slowly and sits on the edge of the bed. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Lena smiles gently. “I’m fine, Kara. Do you want to sit?”

“Oh, no, I should let you get some sleep. I’m sorry for disturbing you, Miss Luthor.” She starts to back away and Lena sits up a little straighter.

“Sit down, Kara.”

Kara visibly gulps and moves a chair closer to the edge of the bed, sitting down obediently. She sighs and looks down at her hands sitting in her lap. “I’m sorry that you got hurt. I should have been more aware. If I had just—“

“Kara,” Lena interrupts her. “If it hadn’t been for you, I probably would have been burned alive in that car. You’ve saved my life twice. I should be thanking you.”

Kara furrows her brow, wanting to argue further, but she looks up instead and smiles halfheartedly. “I just feel like now that I’m embracing my powers more, I should be doing a lot more. I should be helping.”

Lena has a sinking feeling that she may be losing yet another driver, but she knows that Kara feels a responsibility to do good and to help everyone, and she should. She’s a hero, but she isn’t Lena’s hero.

“I’ll understand if you need to quit your job and help more around the city.”

Kara shakes her head. “No, no, that isn’t what I meant. I’m—I’ll always be there to help you. I just feel anxious, I guess, like I need to be everywhere at once, but my priority is you and your safety.”

Lena chews on her bottom lip. “Well, that’s a bit selfish of me, isn’t it? I shouldn’t monopolize all of your time. If you feel like you should be doing more, you should. I’ll be okay. Besides, from what I’ve seen, you’re pretty fast. I’m sure if I’m ever in trouble, you’ll be there.”

Kara places her hand on top of Lena’s and looks her in the eye. “I’ll always be there.” She breaks their eye contact and stands suddenly, clearing her throat. “I should, uh, let you get some sleep. Goodnight, Miss Luthor.” She leaves the room and shuts the door gently behind her.

“Goodnight, Kara,” Lena whispers. She didn’t realize how fast her heart was beating until she was left alone in the quiet of the bedroom and it was all that she could hear.

* * *

For the next couple of weeks, it’s business as usual. Kara drives Lena to and from work, but in between, she helps out around the city in her new super suit, thwarting criminals and helping Alex and the new government branch that was specifically created to fight alien crime. They call it the Department of Extra-Normal Operations, or the DEO. Kara would help them, and in return, they helped her with Lex and finding a way to find him responsible for the crimes against his sister.

Lena notes that Kara seems happier now that she can use her powers more to help, so she forces herself to be content with seeing her less throughout the day. Every once in a while, Kara will still surprise her with lunch in her office when there aren’t any hold ups or car chases to stop.

It isn’t until one night when she texts Kara for a ride home that she realizes that she’s been a complete and utter fool. Kara takes longer than usual to reply, so Lena assumes she’s in the middle of a bank robbery, or something, but when Kara responds, she apologizes profusely and lets Lena know that she’s waiting in front of the building.

When Lena makes her way down, Kara’s standing on the curb with the door open for her, smiling widely. “I’m so sorry it took me so long to get here, Miss Luthor.”

“It’s not a problem, Kara. I know how busy you’ve been lately.”

Kara just nods and walks to the front of the car. When she pulls away from L-Corp, Lena notices that Kara’s keeping her eyes straight ahead on the road.

“So, how was it today? Did you save any kittens from trees?”

Kara laughs a little. “A couple. I, um, I also had a date.”

“A date,” Lena replies, her voice oozing with surprise and maybe a little jealousy. “That’s great. How was it?”

Kara grips the steering wheel. “It was nice. He’s an alien, too – a Daxamite. They’re pretty similar to Kryptonians, actually. Now that more aliens are making themselves known around the city, it doesn’t feel quite so lonely, you know?”

Lena nods silently and clenches her jaw while looking out the car window. She’s happy for Kara. Of course she is. Kara deserves to date and find someone she’s compatible with, someone she won’t be afraid of hurting. Someone who isn’t a workaholic CEO who’s afraid of commitment. Really, good for her.

They pull up to the apartment and Lena opens her door before Kara can do it. She ignores the confusion on Kara’s face and starts walking briskly toward the door. “Goodnight, Kara.”

“Goodnight, Miss Luthor,” the voice says behind her.

Lena stands in her doorway and sighs. The space never bothered her before, but there’s just so much of it and Lena’s aware of exactly how much there is. It’s suffocating. She walks into her kitchen and grabs a glass out of her cupboard. She finds an opened bottle of scotch and pours herself a couple fingers before downing it in one gulp. She pours herself another glass before sitting down on a chair that looks out her balcony window. Kara is still waiting outside of her apartment.

Lena’s tired of the hints and the mixed signals she gets from Kara, but her pride keeps her from confronting her driver about it. It could be all in her head, anyway. Besides, Kara is paid to worry about her. She is her bodyguard, after all. Though, she’s not paid to let her gaze linger or to reach out as if she wanted to hug her whenever they say goodnight. Lena groans in frustration and looks at her phone on her nightstand. She stares at Kara’s name in the list of her most recent text messages and thinks about asking her to come up, but her thumb scrolls down the list and, instead, she texts Veronica and asks if she’s busy.

 **Veronica:** For you? Never.

Veronica arrives a half hour later and Lena lets her up. She pours them both a drink and they sit on the couch together.

“Haven’t heard from you in months. Why the change of heart?” Veronica asks while sipping her wine.

“Let’s just say that I don’t have anything tying me down this time,” Lena says with a smirk.

“Ah, getting over someone sex. Well, luckily for you, I’m a pro at getting women to forget about everyone but me.” She sets her wine glass down on the table and takes Lena’s, as well. She grins hungrily and snakes her hand behind Lena’s neck and leans in to kiss her. Lena allows herself to relax into the kiss and wraps her hands around Veronica’s back. She feels a hand creep up her thigh and underneath her skirt. She moans when the hand cups her sex and Veronica whispers, “See? I told you.”

A loud crash rings through the apartment and startles the two women. Lena looks at her balcony door, which has been completely bashed in.

“Looks like someone isn’t over you yet,” Veronica says, raising her eyebrow. Lena apologizes profusely and Veronica is, thankfully, very understanding when she leaves. After putting on some sweats and a sweatshirt, she walks out to the front of her apartment building.

“I know you’re still out here,” she yells out into the night sky.

Kara lands behind her with her jaw set and her eyebrows creased together.

“What the fuck, Kara?”

“You know who that is, right?” Kara replies, arms crossed over her suited chest.

“Uh, yeah. Veronica Sinclair. She’s—“

“She’s working for your brother,” Kara cuts in. “Alex found a paper trail and checked into her bank accounts. She receives regular payments from one of Lex’s shell companies. She’s being paid to spy on you.”

“But I haven’t talked to her in months,” Lena argues, not wanting to admit that she’d been fooled yet again.

Kara sighs and walks toward the front of the apartment. “Follow me.” Lena does so and once they get inside, Kara starts looking around and pulling out tiny wires. Upon closer inspection, Lena realizes that they’re bugs and they’ve been installed all over her apartment. She feels sick to her stomach. She looks past Kara to her shattered balcony and her driver looks embarrassed and apologetic.

“I’m sorry, I’ll fix it.”

After lining up all of the bugs on the kitchen table, Lena looks down at them and sighs. There are probably hidden cameras all over, too. Did Lex watch all of her failed dates? Was he laughing at her? Her heart starts racing as her anger begins to boil over. Did Kara think she was an idiot, too? She couldn’t hold onto a single relationship if her life depended on it. She was alone and her closest friend was her employee – an employee that she wanted something more with.

“If you knew these were here, why didn’t you say anything?” Lena questions.

“I didn’t know I’d find them here until I saw Veronica,” Kara replies. “I didn’t know who she was the first time you went out, Alex told me. So, when you had her leave, I didn’t think you were in any danger.”

Lena thinks back to her dates, the one with Jack, where Kara looked like she wanted to decapitate him with her heat vision. Then the first date with Veronica, when Kara nearly broke the car door after closing it. She’s tired. She’s tired of guessing.

“Kara, what are we doing?” Lena asks bluntly.

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“You get so obviously jealous when I go on dates. You did with Veronica the first time and with Jack. And then I—“ she takes a deep breath. Is she really going to do this? Is she really going to tell Kara how she feels? “Hearing that you went on a date made _me_ feel jealous. And I have no right to be. You should be happy, you should have a relationship and friends outside of your job, people you can relate to. You shouldn’t be afraid of hurting people with your love.”

Kara stands completely still, her mouth slightly open as if she wants to speak. Instead, she grabs Lena by the hand and guides her back outside to the car.

“Where are we going?”

“It isn’t safe here. I’ll need to do a more thorough sweep later.” Kara opens the car door for her and Lena climbs in. They drive off somewhere, outside of the city and Kara pulls off on some empty dirt road in the middle of what looks like a forest. She shuts the engine off and exits the vehicle, climbing into the back seat. Lena can tell that her pulse is racing and Kara is breathing heavily, as well.

“Miss Luthor, you’re my boss,” Kara starts saying. “I couldn’t—I didn’t want to take advantage of that professional relationship or blur the lines between what was acceptable and what wasn’t, but I think I’ve been in love with you for a long time. And, yes, it hurt when you started dating, but I just wanted you to be happy. I’m sorry if my jealousy made things awkward for you or made it feel like you couldn’t continue seeing these people. I just didn’t know how to deal with my feelings. I thought that if I started dating other people, it would help, but it didn’t. I thought that if I could find someone like me, it would take this loneliness away, but the only thing I could think about the entire time I was with him was you.” She clears her throat and smiles sheepishly. “Sorry, I guess I’ve been holding that in for a while.”

Lena scoots closer to Kara. “Well, I’ll probably have to talk to HR about this at some point, but right now, I don’t care. I want you, Kara. I have for a long time and I was trying to delude myself by dating these other people, because Lena Luthor can’t possibly have feelings for an employee. What will the people think?” She laughs sardonically. “But it doesn’t matter. None of this matters. My brother is actively trying to kill me like it’s a game to him, my mother only talks to me when stocks are down, I have no friends, and I can’t date like a normal person, because I have very confusing feelings for my driver slash bodyguard. My life is a joke.”

Kara frowns at Lena’s self-depreciation, so she does the only thing she can think of to try and convince her otherwise. She holds Lena’s face in her hands and kisses her. After the initial shock, Lena melts into Kara and grabs onto her clothing to pull her as close as possible. Kara begins kissing her jaw and marking the skin on her neck with bite marks.

The moans that come from Lena spurs Kara on and she tucks her hands underneath Lena’s thighs and drags her down so that she’s lying on her back on the seat. Kara all but rips her sweatshirt off her body, throwing it somewhere on the front seat. Lena thanks her past self for being too angry and in a hurry to yell at Kara to put on a bra.

“Wow,” Kara says breathlessly when she stops to take in every inch of Lena’s unclothed body. “You’re amazing.”

Lena blushes from head to toe and she doesn’t know what to do when Kara’s looking at her like that. “Are you going to do anything with that mouth of yours?” she smirks and sits up on her elbows, trying to get Kara to focus on something other than her breasts.

Kara eyes her hungrily and rips her sweats down her legs before planting kisses and rough nips down her thighs, marking them, as well. Lena lays back down and runs her hands through Kara’s golden hair, trying to pull her to where she wants her, but the Kryptonian isn’t having it.

“You aren’t very patient, are you?” Kara remarks, pulling away and sitting up straight.

“Kara, I have spent the past six months getting people into bed with me and then promptly kicking them out, because I only wanted your mouth on me. I think I deserve to be a little impatient.” Kara grins impishly and dives in to pepper kisses down Lena’s neck, tickling it until she squeals with laughter. She stops suddenly and hovers above Lena, looking at her, drinking her in, as if she were the only woman on the planet.

“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Kara whispers.

“I’ll bet you say that to all of the earthlings,” Lena replies, trying to deflect the wave of seriousness with humor.

Kara just shakes her head, not letting it deter her. “No, only you. I’ve wanted you for so long, Miss Luthor.”

“Then take me,” Lena answers, spreading her legs as wide as she can in the cramped, awkward position she’s in. Kara doesn’t need further invitation and kisses Lena feverishly, her tongue darting out, begging for entrance at the seam of Lena’s mouth. Lena parts her lips and accepts the gift, allowing Kara to push her tongue inside. Grabbing at whatever she can reach, Lena lifts Kara’s shirt off of her body and tosses it to the floor. She then starts working at her driver’s pants, but can’t get them past her knees.

“Take these off. I want to feel you.”

Kara sits down on the seat and lifts her rear, so she can slide her pants off and they pool down at her feet. She removes her shoes and socks next and then turns back to lie on top of Lena. She cups Lena’s face with one hand and brings the other lower, stopping right above her left breast. Lena nods her silent consent and Kara swipes a thumb across a hardened nipple, causing Lena’s hips to jerk up in search of friction.

“God, please Kara,” Lena breathes. Kara slides further down the seat and keeps one foot set on the floor of the car while the other leg is placed deliberately between Lena’s legs, but not pushing up against anything. Kara’s gentle touches up and down her thighs makes her skin tingle everywhere and it takes all the strength she has to not pull Kara’s hand where she wants it. Kara replaces her fingers with her tongue and flicks one of Lena’s nipples into a hardened peak. Lena gasps and wraps a hand around Kara’s neck and back, pulling her closer and when Kara’s hand slides down her stomach and finally, _finally_ cups her sex. She lets out the loudest moan she’s ever made, encouraging Kara to continue.

“Can I take these off?” Kara asks, sliding her fingers beneath the elastic band of Lena’s panties.

“Yes, yes,” Lena replies, lifting her hips. The thin material travels down her thighs and grazes across her ankles until Kara flicks them down to the floor. She lowers herself back down and nuzzles her face between Lena’s legs.

“You smell so good,” Kara groans, wanting to take her time, to savor the moment, but at the same time, wanting to make Lena scream loud enough that the entire forest can hear. Her impatience wins in the end and she drags her tongue through Lena’s folds at an agonizing pace. The hand in her hair tightens its grip in her hair and pulls her closer. She uses the tip of her tongue to flick Lena’s clit and drags her eyes up to watch the other woman’s reaction. Lena has her eyes closed tight, head thrown back, and her other hand is gripping the door handle. Her chest rises and falls rapidly, keeping in time with her deep breaths and her bottom lip is pulled between her teeth.

Kara uses her fingers to spread her open and drags her tongue through her wetness once more. Lena writhes beneath her, begging for more contact, for more anything. Just more. A single finger enters her then and she lets out a deep sigh, her abdomen and core tightening as it adjusts. It isn’t enough, though, and Kara is sliding it in much too slowly.

“More,” she says hoarsely. “I need more.”

Kara grins and draws her finger out, pushing two back in and rising up to sink her teeth into the area where Lena’s neck meets her shoulder. With a strangled moan, Lena bucks her hips up to meet Kara’s strokes and wraps her legs around the Kryptonian’s hips.

“God, _yes_. Fuck me, Kara.”

Kara lets out a whimper and starts pushing her hips into the back of her hand while her fingers pump in and out of Lena’s wetness.

“You’re taking me so well, Lena,” Kara pants. The praise alights something deep within Lena and she feels the coiled rope within her tightening, ready to snap at any moment. When Kara whispers, “You’re so good,” she presses her thumb against her clit and rubs it with every thrust. All of the tension inside of Lena is released and she comes hard and fast around Kara’s fingers, screams echoing off of the foggy car windows.

Her chest heaves as she comes down and she can tell Kara doesn’t want to be done yet, but the angle her neck is sitting at and the seatbelts digging into her spine is the least comfortable she’s been during a very intense, very nice, orgasm. Plus, there are things called beds, or even couches. Something with cushions and more room. Kara’s head lays across her stomach and Lena strokes her hair.

“Kara? Is there somewhere else we can go? I like this car just fine, but I’d kind of like to finish this on a bed, or in something where I won’t be afraid of suffocating.”

Kara lifts her head up and realizes she didn’t crack any of the windows. “Oh, shoot! Yeah, of course. My apartment isn’t too far from here.”

After hastily throwing on some clothes, Kara jumps from the back seat to the front seat, through the window divider, and turns the car on. She drives them back towards the city and into a part that Lena recognizes from Thanksgiving. It really is a nice area, quiet, and appears to have at least one coffee shop on every street. Lena can’t really imagine herself living there, near all the parks and duplexes, but she can see why Kara does. It suits her.

After they pull up to the correct building, Kara turns off the car and races over to Lena’s side, opening the door for her.

“We’ve arrived, Miss Luthor.” She bows exaggeratedly and Lena laughs, shaking her head. As they head up the stairs, Lena’s nerves get the best of her and she starts to wonder what she’s doing. She just got deliciously fucked by her driver _inside_ of her car and now she’s at her driver’s apartment with her hair messy and not wearing and underwear, because she’d left them in the car. This wasn’t a one-night stand. It couldn’t be.

“Come on in,” Kara says cheerfully after opening the door. “Um, I don’t know if I have anything you like to drink. I have water and this weird beer that Alex drinks.”

“Water’s fine,” Lena replies as she looks around. It looks different since she had last been there. No Thanksgiving decorations line the tables. It looks homier, more like Kara. She’s handed a glass of cold water and she sips it carefully, not wanting to let her fears and anxieties become visible. She smiles at Kara while the Kryptonian settles in next to her on the couch.

“Are you all right?” Kara asks, sensing something is off.

“I’m okay,” Lena lies. She doesn’t want to worry Kara, or make her think she doesn’t want to be there. She does. She really, really does, but from all of her past experiences and her overwhelming self-doubt, she feels like this can’t possibly work out for her. A CEO and her driver, together. She’d be the laughingstock of the entire company and, worse yet, her family. It isn’t the status that bothers her, it’s the fact that they wouldn’t see Kara as worthy, not knowing how truly worthy she is, how selfless and caring and _super_ that she is.

They wouldn’t know of all the times she’d been saved by Kara. They’d only see her as this woman who waits on her hand and foot out of a sense of duty. Was that what the sex was? Kara felt like she was doing Lena a favor? Her mother would tell her that love had no place in a Luthor’s heart and that she should stop pretending it did. She’d tell her that no one would be able to handle someone like her, not for an extended period of time, anyway. In time, they’d get fed up with her temper or with how much she worked. They’d get tired of her not being able to love the way that others loved her. Kara would eventually leave her.

“Hey,” Kara says, interrupting her thoughts. “I can tell something’s wrong. Your heartbeat is going a mile a minute and you do that thing with your hands when you’re thinking.”

Lena looks down at her hands and sees that she’d been wringing them the entire time, so she flattens them on her thighs. She can’t find the words to express what she’s feeling, so she turns to fully face Kara and slips her glasses off, folding them and placing them on the table next to her glass of water. Kara screws her eyebrows together in confusion, but when Lena grabs her face and kisses her, she lets out a surprised yelp and grabs onto Lena’s hips while she’s being lowered onto the couch.

Lena settles in between Kara’s legs and continues kissing her, swiping her tongue across her lip until she opens her mouth wider. Lena takes. She takes and takes and takes until Kara slides her hand between them into Lena’s sweats. She moans into Kara’s mouth and shakes her head.

“No, it’s your turn now,” she removes Kara’s hand and holds it over her head, fully knowing that Kara could easily overpower her if she wanted to without breaking a sweat. That thought alone makes her wetter, but she ignores it, because she wants to know what Kara looks like when she comes around her fingers.

She leans down to kiss Kara’s neck, dragging her teeth down, realizing that she won’t be able to mark or penetrate her skin. It doesn’t matter, though, because the sounds Kara is making are so incredibly arousing, she’ll remember them forever.

“Rao,” Kara hisses when Lena presses her leg up into Kara’s core. “That feels really good.” Lena starts peeling Kara’s pants down her legs and throws them to the floor before traveling back, kissing a trail up Kara’s thighs. She can tell Kara is holding back, not wanting to make any sudden movements at the risk of hurting her.

“I’m going to take these off, too. Is that okay?” Lena asked with her fingers tucked into Kara’s underwear. Kara nods wordlessly and lifts her hips, so Lena can remove them. She sits up and takes her shirt off, too, throwing it behind the couch.

“If you want to stop, just tell me,” Lena says as she kisses Kara’s jaw. Kara responds with a nod and her breath hitches when she feels Lena grind into her lap.

Lena continues kissing the column of Kara’s neck and the sensitive spot behind her ear. She hears the sound of fabric ripping and sees Kara’s hands gripping pieces of her couch. Lena’s going to have to pay for new furniture, for sure. Her hand slides through wiry hair and she gathers some wetness on her fingers before finding Kara’s clit. Kara releases a guttural moan and arches her back. When Lena sets her finger at Kara’s entrance, about to slide a finger in, she feels a hand on her wrist, stopping her movement.

“Miss Luthor, wait. I can’t—I don’t want to hurt you.”

Lena smiles down at her. “You won’t. I trust you.”

Kara brings Lena’s hand up and holds it against her chest. “I don’t trust myself. I haven’t ever gone this far with anyone and I don’t know what will happen. I mean, I’m not sure what my body will do.”

Lena makes a mental note to continue working on her project, but in the meantime, she has a panicking Kryptonian underneath her. “What if we go slowly? I’ll keep my fingers outside and if you feel like you’re going to lose control, we’ll stop?”

Kara hesitates, but nods her consent, releasing Lena’s hand from her grip.

“Okay, good. Now relax,” Lena husks into her ear. She moves her hand lower again, sliding it through Kara’s pool of arousal and both of them gasping at the same time. Lena brings her fingers higher, teasing Kara’s clit out of its hood and rubbing it in tight circles. She kisses Kara hungrily, her other arm wrapped under her neck and gripping her shoulder. She feels Kara’s hands on her skin, one hand grabbing onto her ass and then sliding between her thighs from behind.

“ _Fuck!_ Kara, stop distracting me,” she groans after breaking their kiss.

Kara smirks and moves her hand up to the small of her back. “But I like making you feel good.”

Lena rolls her eyes and moves her head and body lower. “We have all night, darling. Now, quit being a brat and let me make you come.”

Holding her hands up, Kara relents and lets Lena continue without further interruption. Lena drags her hand down Kara’s abs until she arrives back at her previous destination. She scoots lower down the couch and lifts Kara’s thighs over her shoulders. Kara takes a deep breath, preparing herself for what’s about to happen, but nothing can prepare her for Lena’s mouth on her. She punches a hole right through her couch when she feels a tongue on her clit.

“Miss Luthor!”

“I really need you to stop calling me that while my face is between your legs. That’s a kink for some people, but not me,” Lena quips and continues licking and flicking the bundle of nerves. Lena is grateful that Kara’s physiology is similar enough to a human’s that she doesn’t have to search for some random alien erogenous zones. 

Lena pays close attention to Kara’s breathing and how her body reacts, so when she thinks she’s close, Lena moves her mouth higher and latches onto a pink nipple while continuing to rub the Kryptonian’s clit until Kara comes with a loud cry and kicks one of the armrests of the couch out her window.

Kara lies still for a few minutes while her breathing evens out and Lena’s resting her head on her stomach, tracing irregular patterns with her fingertips.

“Rao, that was… incredible. I’ve never felt anything like that before,” Kara says with a contented sigh and a laugh. “I’m going to need to buy sturdier furniture, though.” She cards her fingers through Lena’s soft hair, making her moan softly. Lena lifts her head up and looks at Kara with a devilish smile.

“Are you ready for round three? You said your stamina was good, didn’t you?”

Lena stands and begins discarding her clothing on the apartment floor. Kara’s mouth gapes wide open and she watches a completely naked Lena Luthor make her way to her bedroom, waiting for her to follow.


	5. Chapter 5

It isn’t very hard to separate work from pleasure, but when Kara gives her a sneaky kiss on the cheek before she walks into L-Corp, she can’t deny that her stomach does somersaults and flips inside of her body. Or, when Kara brings lunch up to her with a bright smile across her face, she almost forgets that Kara is a paid employee.

Being the CEO of the company, she doesn’t really need to care about the implications of special treatment she may be giving Kara, but she meets up with her HR people anyway, just to lay everything out and show that she isn’t trying to hide anything. They come to a consensus that as long as Lena doesn’t give Kara any obvious preferential treatment like giving her months of paid annual leave at a time, or her own private jet, it should be fine.

Then there’s the whole superhero thing.

Kara continues her side job as National City’s resident guardian and does what she can to make it safer. Lena worries that Kara is running herself thin between being a driver, a hero, and a girlfriend – well, that last one isn’t official. Yet. They haven’t really discussed where they are in their relationship and that’s fine by Lena. She’s perfectly okay with not putting a label on whatever they are. Although, it would be nice to know if they’re exclusive, which is pretty apparent when Kara spends practically every night at Lena’s penthouse. But still. Lena likes things to be cut and dry. She’s even thought about writing up a contract that they’d be legally bound to only sleep with each other, but Jess told her that it might be too much.

So, she just decides to ask.

“Kara, what are we?” Lena asks one night while they’re both lying in bed after hours of really, _really_ great sex.

“What do you mean?” Kara replies, turning on her side and leaning her head on one of her hands.

“I mean, are we just having fun? Or is this something more?” Lena doesn’t look Kara in the eye, because she knows that Kara has this way of making her fall apart and she needs to steel herself in case she’s given a less than desirable answer.

“Oh gosh, did I give the impression that I wasn’t serious? I’m so new to all of this. I thought I’d already made it clear when I told you how I felt.” She nuzzles her face up to Lena’s and kisses her temple, throwing an arm over her torso. “I don’t want anyone else, Lena. I want to spend the rest of my life saving yours.”

Lena feels a tear slide down her face and she lets out a shuddered breath. “I can tell you’re being serious.”

“How?” Kara asks.

Lena turns to finally look at Kara. “You used my first name,” she grins.

Kara laughs and leans in to kiss her and Lena lets all of her doubts and fears get kissed away. For a moment, she can forget about her mother’s ridiculously high expectations and forget that her brother has made two separate attempts on her life in the past few months. It’s just her and Kara, and even though Kara’s promise to be there for her for the rest of her life feels premature, she doesn’t care. She knows that Kryptonians are serial monogamists and that once they’ve chosen a mate, they’re together for life. The thought scares Lena a little, but this is the first time she’s ever truly felt safe and cared for and she’ll be damned to let it go.

Alex and the DEO continue keeping tabs on Lex, but he’s slippery and continues eluding them. No further attacks have been made on Lena, but they know it’s only a matter of time and Kara’s been on high alert, only stopping crimes within a ten block radius around L-Corp and Lena’s apartment.

It’s strange having her own personal alien bodyguard. Sure, she has a security detail, but they mostly stay at the entrance of the buildings she’s in and she most certainly never slept with any of them. But Kara is always there, always nearby. Lena isn’t used to leaning on someone else so much. She’s always been alone, left to fend for herself, and it’s been taking some getting used to.

“ _Lena_. You don’t need to dust the tops of your cabinets. What good is having an alien superhero girlfriend who can _fly_?”

“I can manage. I do this all the time,” Lena argues, continuing to climb up the step ladder and dusting the parts of her apartment that no one ever sees.

Kara huffs and stands below her with her arms crossed. She’s still wearing her super suit after her last patrol around the city and had come to Lena’s balcony to see what she was up to.

“Well, when you’re done with that, can we order some food and relax? You’re making me anxious and I didn’t even know I could get anxious.”

“Yes, fine, go ahead and check the drawer next to the fridge for some menus.” Just as she turns to point in the direction of the drawer, she loses her footing and is about to topple to the ground, but Kara is there to catch her just in time.

Kara gives her a look that totally says _I told you so_ , but doesn’t say so out loud. Instead, she kisses Lena on the nose and lets her down. “Pizza?”

“What is it with you and pizza?” Lena asks good-naturedly.

Kara shrugs. “It has everything I want in a meal – bread, cheese, vegetables, meat. It’s, like, the perfect food.”

She has a point, but eating with Kara is going to ensure that she’s going to need to sign up for a gym membership, or at least take up running. Kara finds the menu for the nearest pizza parlor and orders for the both of them. She knows Lena’s order by heart and after she hangs up, she walks over to Lena, who’s poured herself a glass of wine.

“We have about twenty minutes. Any ideas of how we can pass the time?” She wraps her arms around Lena’s waist and presses her lips to the side of her neck.

“My goodness. Kara Danvers, are you actually flirting?”

“Oh. Is-is that weird? Should I stop?” Kara releases her grip and takes a step back.

Lena laughs and takes one of Kara’s hands in hers. “No, darling. I was teasing you. I like it.”

Kara smiles back at her and scoops her up in her arms, making Lena yelp while she’s being carried off to the bedroom.

After the fastest orgasm of her life, there’s a knock at the door and Kara hops up to answer it, assuming it’s the pizza. When she opens the door, Alex is standing there with a grim look on her face.

“You didn’t answer your phone,” she pushes her way through the door. Lena walks out with only a t-shirt and her underwear on and gasps when she sees Alex.

“Ah. I see,” Alex looks her up and down, then gives her sister an unamused look.

“I’m just going to… go put some pants on,” Lena says, walking back into the bedroom. She hurries and puts on a pair of sweats before re-entering the kitchen. Alex is talking to Kara in a low voice and has a concerned look on her face. Kara looks up with her and gives her a reassuring smile.

Alex takes a step toward her. “Miss Luthor, your brother appears to be planning something big. He’s been moving a lot of equipment around his companies and we have reason to believe he’s building a weapon of some sort, but we’re not quite sure what yet.”

Lena has a grave look on her face. “Well, whatever it is, it’ll most likely be targeting me or someone I care about.”

“Why does he hate you so much?” Kara asks.

“When we went on his killing spree, killing all of the aliens on his way up to Superman, he wanted me to join him. He thought that I could help him develop bigger and better weapons with him, but I refused. That man isn’t the brother I grew up with. His hatred has blinded him.”

“And he has all of that research on Kryptonians. He knows how to hurt us.”

Lena nods. “But we’ve taken care of that with your suit.”

Kara nods gravely, but she doesn’t look totally convinced. Alex informs them that Lena should still lie low and probably shouldn’t return to her apartment until they’re able to apprehend Lex. She tries to tell Lena not to go into work, but Lena won’t have it. No amount of death threats can keep her from her job and Kara promises to keep an eye on her.

As a way to appease both Kara and Alex, Lena increases her security even more and doesn’t go anywhere without at least a couple of guards.

One day, on her way to R&D, something feels off. She doesn’t recognize her guards, but she assumes they’re just on a rotating schedule. When she uses her keycard, the lab is empty, which is also strange. It’s usually bustling with scientists and she has them working on various projects, so for it to be empty is deeply concerning. Right as she walks in, she feels a sharp pain in her neck and then everything goes black.

When Lena wakes up again, her head is fuzzy and she quickly realizes that she can’t move. She looks down at her arms and sees that she’s tied to a chair. Looking around, she notices that she’s no longer in the R&D lab. The room she’s in is dark, save for one light bulb that hangs overhead, bathing her in a dim yellow light. The air is stale, like there’s no ventilation in the room, and there is only one door on the far left wall. She looks around for anything that might help, but the walls are bare.

The door creaks open and one of the traitorous guards walks in smirking. He’s brought in another chair and places it in front of Lena. She doesn’t like the way he’s looking at her and she’s worried that he may try something with her in her incapacitated state, but he just stands off to the side and waits. A few minutes later, the door opens again and a darkened figure stalks in. Lena recognizes him immediately.

“Hello, sis.”

“Lex,” Lena sneers. “Kidnapping isn’t in your usual repertoire. You’ve never been one for theatrics.”

“I’ve never wanted to capture an alien before,” he replies, sitting down in the chair that was set up in front of her. “And you’re my bait.”

“Capture?”

“Don’t worry, you’ll find out in time. Harvey, make sure the lights are set up for our guest.” Lex stands and gives Lena a cocky smile. “Sit tight. The show is about to start.” He turns to leave, the sound of his shoes on the concrete floor echo throughout the room and the door creaks as it opens and is slammed shut.

Lena watches while Harvey fiddles with some contraption off to the side when a crash comes as a section of the roof caves in.

“Lena!” Kara calls out while running toward her. “Are you okay?”

“Kara, look out!”

Harvey runs at her with a pistol glowing green and fires it at Kara. The bullets hit the shield that protects Kara around her suit. Lena breathes a sigh of relief, grateful that she added the Kryptonite shield.

The door swings wide open again and more men run in with weapons drawn. Lex enters behind them and has a remote in his hand. “Ah, our guest of honor has arrived. Welcome, Kara Zor-El.” The sound of her full name surprises Lena. Even she didn’t know it. She’d never even bothered to ask, because she was just Kara Danvers to her.

“Let her go, Lex.”

Lex scoffs. “What, and have her miss all of the fun? Your cousin says ‘hi,’ by the way.”

Her cousin? What did Lex mean by that? Before Lena can question it further, Kara is letting out a pained roar and makes like she’s going to rush at him, but Lex hits a button on the remote in his hand and the entire building is bathed in red light. Kara freezes and looks down at her hands. One of the armed men hits her with the butt of his gun in her stomach and she crumples to the ground. Another man knocks her unconscious.

“What have you done?” Lena shouts, pulling at her bindings, but it’s no use.

Lex smirks at her and walks forward. “If I had known you’d end up an alien fucker, I would have gotten rid of you sooner, too.” He kneels down next to Kara’s limp body and grips her chin, squeezing it hard. “These things are a plague on our world. They don’t belong here.” 

“All this because the woman you love doesn’t love you back? Get over it, Lex. Plenty of people get rejected without resorting to genocide.”

“Those people aren’t _me_. I’m going to show Superman he can’t invade my planet and take my woman and get away with it. And his cousin taking my baby sister? Over my dead body.”

“You’re a monster,” Lena chokes out. “What happened to you?”

“What happened to me is that I finally realized where I could actually put all of my knowledge and intellect to use. Humanity will thank me one day. I will have stopped an invasion.

Kara begins to stir and tries to lift herself off of the floor. Lex reaches over to grab one of the weapons from his men and points it at Kara’s head.

“Tell me, Lena. Did you ever think that you’d become a traitor to your own kind? Having a relationship with your _driver_? Please. Luthors are better than that,” he spits his vitriol out in waves and Lena’s anger boils up in her chest. She hears the sound of the hammer on the gun being cocked and Lex has a sinister grin on his face. “Tell her that she means nothing to you and I may let her live. Tell her you were just using her to get what you wanted from her. If you’re the one who destroys her, I won’t need to.”

“Lena?” Kara says, eyes wide.

“Kara,” Lena responds.

“Tick tock, Lena,” Lex pushes the gun harder into Kara’s temple.

“Kara, I—“ she pauses and takes a deep breath and speaks in a low voice. “Push the button on your wrist.”

A confused look washes over Kara’s face and then she feels the sleeve of her uniform and a look of understanding takes over. She pushes a hidden button on her uniform and the entire building illuminates in a bright, yellow light. Lex and his men shield their eyes and there’s a blast of energy that goes off, pushing everyone who was previously standing to the ground. The force knocks over the red sun machine to the ground, switching it off and the building returns to its normal color.

Kara gets to her feet, her eyes glowing yellow and her lip upturned into a snarl. One of the men tries to aim his gun at her and she grabs the muzzle and pushes the butt of the rifle into his nose, knocking him backward.

“H-how?” Lex stammers, clambering on the ground, trying to escape.

Kara grabs him by the collar and lifts him into the air. “Your sister appears to be more prepared than you are.”

“Yellow sun bomb,” Lena answers, still tied to the chair. Kara looks at her lovingly and rips her bindings off the chair arms and legs, releasing her. “Basically the same effect if Kara blows out her powers like Superman’s done, but without the negative after-effects.”

“This isn’t over,” Lex growls. “I’ll just get out again. You’ll never be free, Lena. I’ll find you.”

Kara throws a quick punch, knocking Lex unconscious while still holding him in the air with her other hand. “He talks too much.”

Lena rushes over and wraps herself around Kara, hugging her close. Alex and the rest of the DEO show up later and apprehend Lex, holding him in one of their cells, rather than a regular prison. After filling out some routine paperwork and getting debriefed, Kara takes Lena home and waits in the living room while she showers.

Lena comes out of the steamy bathroom in a National City University hoodie and some sweats, toweling her wet hair off. Kara makes room on the couch next to her and nudges a cup of tea toward her.

“Thank you,” she murmurs while taking a sip. Kara watches her carefully, noting any changes in her behavior. “You’re staring,” she says with a smirk.

“Sorry,” Kara replies, looking away. “Just making sure you’re okay.”

“I’m okay, Kara. Thanks to you.” She puts the cut down and turns to face the Kryptonian. “I’m sorry about your cousin. I didn’t realize that the cousin you were talking about was Superman. I didn’t know that Lex was the one who—“

Kara grabs one of Lena’s hands and squeezes it. “It’s okay, really. I didn’t bring it up, because I didn’t want you to feel guilty or responsible. What happened to Clark was all on Lex, not you. And it ended up being okay. They’re okay.”

“I know, but if I had—I could have stopped it. I just let him continue working on his weapons until he—“

“Hey,” Kara says, cradling Lena’s face in her hands. “It’s not your fault. You saved me today. That yellow sun bomb? That was all you. We got to Lex before he could hurt anyone because of you.”

Lena nods, but tears still fall. Kara brings her into her strong arms and holds onto her, letting her mourn who her brother used to be, whispering words of affirmation and love the entire time. When enough tears have fallen, Kara carries her to the bedroom and lays her down gently, climbing in next to her. Lena’s mind is foggy with exhaustion, so when the words _I love you_ slip out of her mouth, she doesn’t realize it and sleep takes her before she can hear Kara say it back.

* * *

In the morning, Lena wakes up and she’s underneath the covers. She turns toward the side of the bed that Kara was on, but it’s empty. Feeling around with her hand, the mattress and pillow are cold, so Kara’s been up for a while. She smells coffee brewing, so she throws a robe around herself and pads her way to the kitchen. Kara is busy tossing pancakes up in the air and flipping them, while simultaneously buttering toast and chopping fruit.

“Oh, hi! Good morning,” Kara says, putting the pan down and walking over to kiss Lena on the cheek.

“Hi,” Lena replies, smiling. “You’ve been busy.”

Kara waves her off. “Not really. I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to make breakfast.”

Lena wonders if Kara’s inability to sleep has anything to do with the fact that she sleepily declared her love before knocking the fuck out the night before. She hopes that Kara feels the same and that she didn’t just make things awkward. Lena can feel herself begin to panic and her heartrate is elevated. She tries to breathe deeply, but it’s not working, but she’s doing her best to stave off a panic attack, but she can tell she’s failing by the way Kara is looking at her with concern all over her face.

“Lena? Are you okay?” Lena nods silently, but her hands are shaking. In fact, her whole body is shaking. Kara carefully steps forward toward her and opens her arms. “Is this okay?” Lena nods again. Kara scoops her up into her arms and holds her. "Listen to my heartbeat. Match my breathing." She focuses on their heartbeats and breathes in Kara’s scent – something citrusy, maybe her shampoo or body wash. She concentrates on the places on her body where she can feel Kara’s hands and lips gently pressed against her neck. Her heart begins to slow and her breaths calm before she pulls away slightly.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin breakfast. I think your pancakes are burning.”

“Oh, shoot!” Kara says, racing back to the smoking stove. “It’s okay, I made plenty.”

Lena sits down at the breakfast bar and watches Kara clean up. A plate gets pushed toward her across the counter with a stack of pancakes, fresh bananas and strawberries, and two slices of toast.

Kara sits down next to her and eyes her carefully. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Lena sighs and puts her fork down. “I told you that I love you.”

Kara nods cautiously. “Yes, and I said it back.”

“I’ve never told anyone that before.”

A crease forms between Kara’s eyes. “Really? Never?”

Lena shakes her head. “My mother doesn’t believe in unconditional love and Lex took after her. And I’ve never been with anyone I’ve had strong enough feelings for. Everyone just kind of felt like a placeholder, you know? Just waiting for the next one to come along.”

“Until me?” Kara asks with a slight smile on her face.

“Until you,” Lena mirrors the smile and kisses her. “It’s like what we talked about. You never really know if you’re going to love someone forever, but if you get those short moments together where you’re both in sync and on the same page, it’s worth it. I can’t promise you that I’ll love you forever, but I can promise you that I’ll love you for as long as I can, and that I love you now.”

Kara nods slowly. “I guess I’m just not used to any of this. I just want you to be happy.” She shrugs and smiles crookedly.

“I am,” Lena replies. “I mean, assassination attempts aside, things have been good. You make me happy, Kara.” She pulls the hero to her and wraps her arms around her broad shoulders, feeling her warmth, feeling the strong hands embracing her back.

“I’m glad. You deserve it, Miss Luthor.”

Lena laughs lightly and places a kiss on the space between Kara’s neck and shoulder before pulling away. She decides that she should go into the office, even though Kara tells her she should take more time off. Rest is for the weak, or so her mother would tell her, so she adopted that mindset and didn’t feel like she was doing any good by sitting at home.

Reluctantly, Kara drives her to work and opens every door for her until she gets to her office.

“Kara, you don’t need to follow me,” Lena says, putting her bag down on her couch.

“I know, but I want to,” Kara shrugs. “Besides, now that Lex is at the DEO, there’s not much for me to do during the day, besides chase after purse snatchers, but the NCPD can handle that stuff.” She plops onto the couch next to Lena’s bag.

“Okay, but I really need to get some work done, so you need to be quiet.”

“Can do, boss!” Kara salutes and lies down.

Lena sits down and starts going through her e-mails, scrolling through the endless rows of proposals and grant requests and ignoring the e-mail from her mother that will most likely admonish her for turning in her brother. She sighs and looks up to find Kara staring at her with her hands under her chin and leaning on the arm of the couch.

“What?”

“You’re really beautiful.”

Lena rolls her eyes and feels her face get warm. She still isn’t used to getting so many compliments and has trouble believing them, but Kara says she’ll keep giving them until she does. By the time lunch rolls around, Lena’s gotten through most of her e-mails, which is a miracle, considering how distracting Kara is. The blonde jumps off of the couch and looks at Lena expectantly.

“Can I help you with something?” Lena asks wryly.

“Are we going to lunch?”

Lena looks at her clock and then back at Kara, who is still looking at her expectantly.

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to take a short break, but we’re _not_ going to Giuseppe’s.”

“Aw, come on. They have bottomless pasta, Lena. Bottomless!”

They end up going to Giuseppe’s, partially because Kara’s the one driving, but mostly because Lena wants to make her happy. When they arrive, they’re seated in a booth and Kara immediately orders a bowl of spaghetti and tells the waiter to ‘keep ‘em coming’. Lena shakes her head in amusement and sits down across from Kara.

“So, I kind of made you something,” Kara says, pulling something out of her pocket. “You can wear it on your wrist and if I’m too far away to hear you, all you need to do is push this button and it’ll emit a sort of alarm that only I can hear and then I’ll come to you.”

Lena takes the bracelet and examines it in her hands. There’s a green jewel embedded at the center of it, which is where the button is. She slides it through her wrist and it sits just above her watch.

“This is amazing, thank you.”

Kara smiles at her and has an odd look on her face and Lena could swear that she almost looks like she’s going to cry, but Kara turns her head suddenly when she sees the waiter with her first bowl of spaghetti. After Kara’s tenth bowl, Lena pays and they head back to the car. Kara doesn’t open the door right away and stands in front of it.

“I want to ask you something—and you don’t have to answer right now! It’s just something I’ve been wondering, because I’m still not completely certain about human interactions and dating, because it’s all very confusing, and—“

“Kara,” Lena says, grounding her by placing both hands on her biceps. “Just ask.”

Kara grins sheepishly and ducks her head. “Is it okay if I tell my mom about us?”

It’s such a random and innocent question and Lena loves her for asking it. She’s taking Lena’s need for privacy into account, because she knows how the rumors have affected her in the past. She doesn’t know how to tell Kara how much it means to her that she asked first, so she just leans in and kisses her hard, pushing her up against the car door until all of the air leaves Kara’s lungs and her driver grabs onto her hips, arching into her.

When they finally break their kiss, Kara’s eyes are completely blown, but she shakes her head. “So, is that a yes?”

Lena laughs and leans her head on Kara’s shoulder. “It’s a yes.”

“Okay, well, while you’re in such a good mood, can I have the weekend off, so I can go visit her in Midvale? That’s kind of why I gave you the bracelet tonight, so you could call me if you needed me while I was away.”

Lena scoffs and pretends to be offended. “You already assumed I’d give you the weekend off?”

“What? No! I was going to give you the bracelet regardless, but I maybe possibly kind of gave it to you earlier.”

“I’m kidding, Kara. Of course you can take the weekend off to see your mom. Say hi to her for me.”

“You should come with me! I’m sure Eliza would love to see you again.”

Lena shakes her head regretfully. “I’d really love to, but I need to catch up on work.” Kara nods as if she expected that response, but she doesn’t make her feel bad for it. She turns to open the door for her and Lena climbs in, waiting to be taken home.

Kara stays over that night, since she’ll be gone for the next few days. It’s only been a few hours, but Lena already misses her. Kara makes sure to text her at least once every hour, even if it’s just sending photos of dogs she sees. She sits at her desk and looks through blueprints of something she’s been working on when there’s a knock at her office door. She checks the camera and scowls when she sees who it is. Pressing the button underneath her desk, she unlocks the door and it opens slowly. A tall woman strolls in like she owns the place, because she partially does.

“Mother.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AYO. This is the final chapter of the fic (it's NSFW, btw) and I can't believe over 900 people have liked it enough to leave kudos. Thank you all so, so much, and thank you for going on this ride with me.
> 
> I'm currently working on two other fics: a post-reveal fic (I know, yawn) and a cooking competition AU, because I'm obsessed with shows like Chopped and Top Chef - also the new season of Great Food Truck Race just started YEE YEE. Anyway, be on the lookout for those if that's the kind of thing you're into. If you're enjoying what I'm writing, please let me know! Tell your friends!
> 
> I'm on bearpantaloons on tumblr and tapdancinghippo on Twitter. I'm mostly a dumbass on all social media platforms, but I like to think I'm funny.

“Why are you here? And how did you get past my security?” Lena mutters under her breath, “Useless, why is everyone so useless?”

“You forget that I still own half of this company, dear,” Lillian says as she slithers her way across the office.

"Nearly half," Lena argues. She stands up and crosses her arms. “What do you want?”

“Please, can we not fight? I’ve already lost one of my children to madness. I don’t want to lose another.”

“You probably should have thought of that before encouraging his behavior. I mean really, mother. CADMUS?”

Lillian puts her bag down and sighs. “Okay, I’ll admit that I may have jumped the gun there and wasn’t thinking clearly, but you have to admit that your brother did have _some_ good ideas.”

“To eradicate every alien on this planet? How is any of that good?”

“The technology he’s used is groundbreaking. Think of how we can adapt it and use it.”

Lena throws her hands up and laughs incredulously. “You always do this. You coddle him and tell him he’s doing such a good job and encourage everything he does no matter how malicious or evil. Whereas, with me, it’s ‘why aren’t the stocks better? Your brother never would have let this happen. If your father could only see you now.’”

“Because I knew you could handle it. I was teaching you how to be strong, so you could run this company and lead it to great heights.”

“Did you ever think that maybe I didn’t need a teacher? Maybe I needed a mother? Or were you too busy getting even with Dad by sleeping with all of your board members?” She hadn’t meant to let that slip out, but it was something she’d been holding onto for quite some time. Ever since she’d found out that Lionel Luthor was her birth father, it changed everything. Not only was she a reminder of her father’s infidelity, she was a walking billboard of the family’s shame and she didn’t think her mother ever forgave him, or her, for that.

Lena had prepared herself for a lot of things – a slap in the face, yelling, being told she was a pox on the Luthor name, but she didn’t prepare herself for what Lillian did next.

She hugged her.

Like, with her arms. In a somewhat loving embrace. It’s a little stiff, and Lena is mostly surprised that Lillian even knows what a hug is, but she lets herself fall into it and hugs back.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t capable of being a better mother to you,” Lillian whispers. It’s the most emotion and the most vulnerable Lena has ever seen her. “I’d like to make it up to you if you’ll let me.”

Lena can’t just forget everything that her mother has done to her. It’s going to take a lot of time and a hell of a lot of therapy to unpack all of it and move on enough to form some sort of relationship with her, but she at least agrees to brunch on Saturday. It’s a start.

After Lillian leaves, Lena walks back to check her phone and she sees three missed calls and ten text messages from Kara ranging from _Are you okay?_ to _Your heart is beating really fast. Do you need me to come back?_ A knock on her balcony window startles her and she looks over her shoulder to see Kara in her suit, floating in front of the door. Lena walks over to unlock it and Kara rushes in.

“What happened? Was there another attack? Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine, Kara. I’m sorry I didn’t respond to you. My mother was here.”

“Y-your mother? What did she want?”

“I assumed she was here to scream at me for putting my brother away, but she ended up apologizing for being a bad mother and wants to mend our relationship.”

“Oh! Well, that’s good, right?” Kara takes a step forward and runs her hands down Lena’s arms.

She nods. “Yes, it—it’s unexpected. I was sure that she would want nothing to do with me now that her golden child was locked up. Speaking of mothers, shouldn’t you be in Midvale?”

Kara shrugs. “I told Eliza that you needed me, so I got excused. I’m supposed to head back there when I’m done here, though. Are you sure you don’t want to come?”

Lena takes another look at her desk. She’d barely made a dent in the paperwork and it honestly isn’t anything that important; it can wait. She smiles at Kara. “Let’s go.”

“Wait, really?” Kara beams.

“Yes, really. Let me just grab a coat and I also made something for you.” She pokes through her closet and gets a warm coat and a small box. She hands the box to Kara, who shakes it a little before opening it.

“It’s for your cape, when you change back into your civilian clothes. Here, watch.” She attaches the device to Kara’s cape and pushes a button. The cape gets vacuum sucked into a thin bag that rests on Kara’s neck like a tag on a shirt.

“This is incredible! You’re the best, thank you.” She kisses Lena and twirls her in the air, causing her to squeal. “Ready to go?”

Lena nods and they walk out to the balcony, but before they take off, Lena tells Jess to take the rest of the day and the weekend off. Kara extends her arms and Lena puts an arm around her girlfriend’s shoulders. They hover above ground for a moment, so Lena can get used to it and then Kara takes off toward Midvale. Since Kara can’t fly quite as fast as she normally would, there’s a bit of a trip ahead of them and Lena needs some way to entertain herself.

“So, I read that Kryptonians exchange bracelets during their wedding vows.”

Kara nearly drops her.

* * *

The weekend ends up being really low-key and Lena doesn’t mind one bit. After everything that happened with Lex, she could use a little relaxation and Midvale is the perfect place to do that. No one knows her there, nobody cares that her last name is Luthor. It’s perfect. Throughout the weekend, she and Eliza spend some time together, baking things for Kara – particularly her favorite, chocolate pecan pie. She can’t imagine her and Lillian doing any of this together. If anything, they might choose wine together or maybe play chess while awkwardly trying to navigate through a normal conversation.

As they’re getting ready to leave, Eliza looks down at Lena’s wrist and smiles.

“That’s a nice bracelet.”

Lena flushes a little. “Oh, yeah, it was a gift from Kara.”

“Was it now?” Eliza has a knowing glint in her eye and the corner of her lip is tugged up into a smirk.

“Ready?” Kara chirps and looks at her mother and then at Lena. “Whatcha talking about?”

“Nothing,” Eliza responds. “Just girl talk. Hope you’ve got your wedding vows all planned.”

Kara chokes on air. “Okay! Time to go. Love you, mom!” She pulls Lena out the front door and onto Eliza’s porch, wrapping the coat around her shoulders and holding her arms out. Lena tries hard to stifle a laugh, but she can’t hold it in and a laugh explodes out of her. Kara full-on pouts and lifts Lena before she’s ready and she screams bloody murder as they take off.

“You and my mom are bullies,” Kara huffs.

“Aw, darling, don’t take it personally. We’re just having a laugh. You know we both love you.”

Kara’s frown deepens and her lip juts out even more. Lena brings her lips to the shell of her girlfriend’s ear and whispers, “I’ll make it up to you next weekend.” She nips at the soft earlobe and Kara’s entire body shivers. Lena really isn’t playing fair, but she definitely knows how to get what she wants - something she supposes she can thank her mother for.

* * *

By the time they get back to Lena’s apartment, it’s pitch black outside with only a few stars shining on the well-lit city. Lena had fallen asleep in Kara’s arms, so she lets them into the apartment as quietly as possible and she takes the CEO to her bedroom.

Lena had borrowed an old pair of sweats and a t-shirt from Kara’s wardrobe to wear on the way home, so thankfully, Kara didn’t have to change her. She lays her down on one side of the mattress and climbs onto the other side. She wakes up in the middle of the night and feels a heavy arm around her torso and heat radiating off of Kara’s body. Turning onto her side, she pulls Kara closer to her, so that she’s flush against Lena’s back and relaxes into her, feeling warm breath tickle the tiny hairs on her neck. She feels safe, probably safer than she’s ever felt before.

* * *

The week passes by quickly, nothing out of the ordinary happens, other than Lena having brunch with her mother. Kara offers to go with her, but Lena insists that she’ll be fine and that Lillian most likely wouldn’t try to kill her. Kara frowns at that, but promises not hover around the restaurant after she drops her off. Lena didn’t tell her that she couldn’t listen to her heartbeat, though, so she focuses in and listens to the steady beat while parking a few blocks away. It calms her and it’s comforting to know that some of those beats are for her. When Lena comes out of the restaurant, Kara jumps out of the car to open the door for her.

“How was it?” She asks before Lena’s even at the car.

“Exhausting, but good. She apologized again and we agreed to make brunch a monthly thing.”

“Oh, that’s great! I’m glad you two are working things out.”

Kara drives them back to Lena’s apartment and they discuss what they spoke about during their meal. It was mostly Lena dissecting her childhood and telling Lillian every single time she felt unwanted or unloved and, surprisingly, Lillian listened and didn’t get defensive.

When they arrive at the apartment, Lena takes off her heels and drops her purse off at the kitchen counter. “I’m glad I went, but it was so draining,” she sighs. She walks over to her cupboard and pulls out a bottle of wine and a glass, pouring herself some, even though she’d already had some at brunch. “She seems to be trying, so that’s all I can really hope for.”

Kara walks up behind her and hugs her. “I’m proud of you.” Lena turns around to face her and smiles.

“I couldn’t have done any of this without you.”

Kara ducks her head and grins. “Nah, I didn’t do anything. This was all you, Miss Luthor. You’re amazing.”

“Remember in Midvale when I said I would make up for making fun of you?” she quirks and eyebrow suggestively. Kara gulps and nods silently. “How would you like to cash it in?”

“Oh, Rao. Yes, please,” Kara breathes out. Lena grabs her hand and leads her toward the bedroom, telling her to sit down. Kara does so obediently and waits.

“I have a surprise for you,” Lena says with a wide smile.

“Oh?” Kara replies. “I have one for you, too, but go ahead.” Lena walks over to her closet and pulls out a box, bringing it over to the bed. She sits down opens it carefully, pulling out a square mechanical thing with a dome on top. She flicks a switch and Kara immediately feels the effects, her powers receding.

“It’s the red sun lamp that Lex had, but I made a few modifications. I’d been working on my own prototype, but he accelerated the project for me. I can adjust the intensity and it can also be done remotely. I thought that it might help with, you know…”

“My never ending fear of hurting someone I’m having sex with?” Kara asks, raising an eyebrow.

Lena chuckles. “Yes, exactly. How do you feel?”

“That’s a good setting. I feel… powerless, but not weak.”

Lena places a gentle hand on Kara’s thigh. “I understand if you don’t feel comfortable with this, especially after what Lex did.”

Kara shakes her head and covers Lena’s hand with her own. “I trust you.”

Lena smiles and places the lamp on the nightstand. She’ll have to figure out how to make bulbs, or something a little more conspicuous later. She stands in front of Kara and puts her hands on her shoulders, running her hands down to the buttons of Kara’s shirt.

“Okay?” she asks, holding her hands steady at the top button. Kara nods and Lena deftly begins unbuttoning her shirt. She peels it down and sees the suit she designed underneath. She’s got half a mind to tell Kara to leave it on, but she keeps herself focused on her task. Next, she works on the button of Kara’s pants and tears them off after Kara lifts her butt off of the bed. She has Kara stand up while she unzips the suit and slowly removes it, peppering kisses all down her body until Kara steps out of the suit completely.

Suddenly, she’s lifted up in Kara’s arms and tossed onto the mattress. _Oh_. So, Kara’s just naturally strong. Okay then. Lena is ridiculously turned on now, thanks to that move.

“Stay there,” Kara orders her and she swiftly leaves the bedroom only to return shortly after with a box in her hands. “This is the surprise that I got you.” She sets it down on the middle of the bed and Lena looks at it. She already knows what it is after seeing the long shape of the box and she smirks.

“Kara, did you go to a sex shop?”

Kara turns beet red. “I, uh, maybe? We don’t have to use it! I just thought that it might be fun, or something new – for me, anyway. I don’t know your sexual history and you don’t have to tell me that, either. It’s none of my business. Oh, gosh, this is embarrassing. More embarrassing than begging Alex to help me pick it out.”

Lena laughs and opens the flap of the box, pulling out the celestial dildo. How fitting. “Is this for you to wear or me?” Lena asks, cocking an eyebrow.

“I—oh, I don’t—I didn’t think that far ahead. Maybe me first? I don’t know if I’m ready for something like that in me.”

Lena smiles and opens one of the drawers in her nightstand, pulling out a leather harness. She hands it to Kara, who looks like she’s about to faint.”

“Um, right. I’m just going to go—“ she points to the bathroom, taking both the harness and the dildo with her. Lena sits back on the pillows and waits for Kara to finish getting ready. She hears noises coming from the bathroom and muffled curses. There’s something falling onto the floor and she hopes it isn’t Kara.

“It got it!” Kara announces triumphantly while barreling out of the bathroom, posing with her hands on her hips and a six-inch strap-on jutting out comically between her legs.

Lena laughs and tells Kara to get on the bed. She follows directions and lies down next to Lena, stroking her face, pulling her down into a kiss. All of Kara’s touches and kisses feel different. She’s no longer holding back, not being overly-conscious of her strength. Kara feels hungrier, a little more desperate. Kara slots herself between Lena’s legs, the dildo making it a little difficult to lay comfortably.

“Should I…” Kara trails off while looking at the lower half of Lena’s body. It makes her feel warm, but it’s also amusing.

“Whatever you feel like, darling,” Lena responds with a grin.

“Well, what do you want?”

Lena raises her head a bit, to reach Kara’s ear and whispers, “I want you to eat me out and then fuck me with your cock.”

Kara stops breathing. She stops moving completely. It takes Lena kissing her and biting down hard on her lip to wake her up again and she kisses back feverishly, sucking the freckle on her neck and kissing down her chest to her breasts. Kara envelopes a nipple into her mouth and swirls her tongue until she feels it harden and Lena gasps and jerks her hips up. Continuing to work her up, Kara kisses down Lena’s stomach, down to her hips and bites them gently. Lena refuses to beg, but _god_ , Kara is going tortuously slow.

She begins to whine when Kara kisses her legs and licks a stripe between her hip and thigh.

“Fuck, Kara, _please_.” Well, so much for not begging. Lena can’t take it anymore. She needs Kara’s mouth on her. She needs to be filled. Finally, Kara takes pity on her and lifts Lena’s thighs over her shoulders and licks up her wet slit and swirls her tongue around her throbbing clit. She cries out, arching her back toward the ceiling, gripping the sheets next to her until her knuckles turn white.

Kara moans into Lena’s heat, sending shivers up her spine, spreading her wider. She sits up on her knees and runs her hands up and down Lena’s thighs, looking at her hungrily. Her pelvis is thrusting forward slightly and Lena licks her lips.

“Grab the lube in the drawer,” she instructs.

Kara leans over and takes out the bottle, squeezing a little into her hand before placing the bottle onto the nightstand. She rubs the length of the dildo until it’s covered in lube and holds the tip up to Lena’s entrance, waiting for Lena’s go-ahead. Lena’s eyes hone in on the dildo and her chest rises and falls. She looks up at Kara and nods.

“Slowly, darling. It’s been a while.”

Kara scoots forward a little and pushes the tip in gently. Lena lies back down and grips the headboard, waiting as Kara keeps inching the dildo in. By the time she’s bottomed out, Lena’s already about ready to come. She wraps her legs around Kara’s back and pulls her closer until Kara’s elbows are bracketed around her head and she can feel her breath on her ear.

“Take me home, Miss Danvers,” she whispers.

With a grunt, Kara pulls out a little and then thrusts back in hard. Lena cries out and grabs onto Kara’s biceps while she continues thrusting into her at a relentless pace. The first orgasm comes quickly and suddenly and before she’s completely recovered, Kara is turning her over, onto her stomach and pulling her hips up.

“Is this okay?” she asks before continuing.

“Jesus fuck, yes Kara. Take me.”

Kara lets out a groan and lines up the dildo again, sliding it in slowly with a hand on the small of Lena’s back and moving her other to hold onto her hip. Lena’s face is pressed against the cool sheets and she once again grips them as Kara pounds into her repeatedly. The sound of thighs slapping against one another, along with Lena’s cries, echo through the room.

“Oh, god Kara, I’m going to come,” Lena says with tears running down her face.

“Can you wait for me? I’m close,” Kara whines, her thrusts becoming more erratic.

“Yes, yes, yes,” Lena clamps her eyes shut and she feels Kara lean forward and reach and arm around, fingers searching for the bundle of nerves between her legs.

“Oh, Rao, I’m coming,” Kara grunts as she rubs Lena’s clit in vigorous circles. Lena pushes herself back into Kara and comes with a scream, her body convulsing and quivering for what feels like forever. She’s not sure if she passed out, but when she opens her eyes, Kara’s lying next to her, the strap-on already removed, and she’s smiling.

“That was incredible,” Kara says with a laugh. She leans in to kiss Lena and lays her head on her shoulder. “I can’t even describe how I feel right now.”

“A good orgasm will do that,” Lena chuckles. Truth be told, her emotions are all over the place, as well. She knows how she feels about Kara, knows that she cares deeply about her. Loves her. Is _in love_ with her. God, she can actually admit that to herself now. She’s in love. After years of fighting against it, convincing herself that it will never happen for her, that no one will be able to love a Luthor, Kara proved her wrong.

“I love you,” Kara whispers breathily into her neck, arm draped across her waist.

“I love you, too,” Lena replies, stroking Kara’s arm until they both fall asleep.

* * *

Throughout the next few months, Kara’s job at L-Corp is downsized. Lena hires another part-time driver, so Kara can concentrate more on her other hero duties, per Alex’s request. Kara still insists on being the one to drive Lena home, if only so that she can get a kiss goodnight. Lena’s invited to game nights with James, Lucy, Winn, and Alex, and she kicks all of their asses at anything involving money or trivia. Things feel good, comfortable. Her relationship with her mother also seems to be improving and they’ve even started going to therapy together once a month. Lena spends most of the time unpacking all of the boxes of her childhood traumas and Lillian does her best to apologize for everything she’s done and for failing her daughter.

But things are good and she feels like everything is exactly how it should be. No more surprises, no more attempted assassinations. But, clearly, Kara likes to keep her on her toes.

“So, you know the bracelet I gave you?”

“… yes?” Lena responds, cautiously.

“Well, I kind of have another one. For myself.”

They’re walking down the aisle of a grocery store and Kara’s pushing the cart. They’re buying ingredients for a cake since it’s Alex’s birthday and Kara thought it would be great idea to bake her something, even though Lena would be doing most of the baking and Kara would be doing the tasting.

“I see,” Lena says, grabbing a bag of flour and setting it down in the cart.

“I was wondering if maybe you’d want me to wear it.”

Lena tosses a bag of sugar into the cart and smiles to herself. “Kara, is this your way of proposing to me?”

“What? No! Pfft, proposing? Don’t be ridiculous.” A beat passes. “Would you say yes if I did?”

Lena laughs and shakes her head at Kara’s cluelessness. This definitely wasn’t the way she’d expected her proposal to go. She wasn’t expecting a proposal at all, but nothing Kara did was conventional. She imagines spending the rest of her life with this woman and she can’t see a negative thing about it.

Lena feels her heart swell. She can’t believe her tiny Grinch heart grew three sizes since meeting Kara. It’s unfathomable how much she loves this woman – this woman who loves her in return. If life really is a bunch of little moments that you have with someone you love, Lena certainly doesn’t want this moment to end.


End file.
